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 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis 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 § 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 of this title, 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, 2, 4, 8, 10 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liao (CN108319065A) in view of Jo (KR20170063009A).
Regarding claim 1, Liao teaches a display panel (Fig. 3-10, Pages 2-7 of English translation of CN108319065A) having a plurality of sub-pixel regions (the regions corresponding to 215 in Fig. 3-4) arranged in an array of a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns (Fig. 4), and a light-shielding region (the regions corresponding to 21, 22 and 72 in Fig. 3-5, Page 5) that separates the plurality of sub-pixel regions (the regions corresponding to 215 in Fig. 3-4) and surrounds all the sub-pixel regions (the regions corresponding to 215 in Fig. 3-4) as a whole (Fig. 3-5), the display panel comprising:
a first substrate (the substrate corresponding to 20 in Fig. 3-4);
a light-shielding pattern layer (the layer corresponding to 21 and 22 in Fig. 3-4) located on the first substrate (Fig. 3-4), wherein the light-shielding pattern layer (the layer corresponding to 21 and 22 in Fig. 3-4) is located in the light-shielding region (the regions corresponding to 21, 22 and 72 in Fig. 3-5, Page 5) and covers part of the light-shielding region (the regions corresponding to 21, 22 and 72 in Fig. 3-5, Page 5);
a second substrate (the substrate corresponding to 10 in Fig. 3-4) disposed opposite to the first substrate (the substrate corresponding to 20 in Fig. 3-4); and
a light-shielding structure layer (the layer corresponding to the light-shielding common electrode 72 in Fig. 3-4) located on the second substrate (the substrate corresponding to 10 in Fig. 3-4), wherein the light-shielding structure layer (the layer corresponding to the light-shielding common electrode 72 in Fig. 3-4) covers at least a region of the light-shielding region that is not covered by the light-shielding pattern layer (Fig. 3-5, Page 5, last paragraph), wherein
the light-shielding region (the regions corresponding to 21, 22 and 72 in Fig. 3-5, Page 5) includes a first light-shielding region (the region corresponding to 211 in Fig. 4) separating the plurality of sub-pixel regions (the regions corresponding to 215 in Fig. 3-4) and a second light-shielding region (the region corresponding to 212, 22 and 72 in Fig. 4-5) surrounding all the sub-pixel regions (the regions corresponding to 215 in Fig. 3-4); the first light-shielding region (the region corresponding to 211 in Fig. 4) and the plurality of sub-pixel regions (the regions corresponding to 215 in Fig. 3-4) constitute a display region (the region corresponding to 101 in Fig. 4-5), and the second light-shielding region (the region corresponding to 212, 22 and 72 in Fig. 4-5) includes a first light-shielding sub-region (the region corresponding to the bottom portion of 212, 22 and 72 in Fig. 4-5) located on a bonding side (the side corresponding to bottom 95 in Fig. 7) of the display panel; and
the display panel further comprises: a first conductive layer (the conductive layer corresponding to 50 in Fig. 3), at least one insulating layer (60 in Fig. 3) and a second conductive layer (the second conductive layer corresponding to 70 in Fig. 3) that are disposed on a side of the second substrate (the substrate corresponding to 10 in Fig. 3-4) proximate to the first substrate (the substrate corresponding to 20 in Fig. 3-4) in sequence, wherein
the first conductive layer (the conductive layer corresponding to 50 in Fig. 3) includes a common voltage line (53 in Fig. 3 and 6-7) located in (Fig. 3, Fig. 6-7) the first light-shielding sub-region (the region corresponding to the bottom portion of 212, 22 and 72 in Fig. 4-5); and
the second conductive layer (the second conductive layer corresponding to 70 in Fig. 3) includes a plurality of common electrodes (the portions of 71 corresponding to each of 215 in Fig. 3, 5 and 7, Page 3, Paragraph 8) and a conductive connection portion (the portions of 71 corresponding to 81 in Fig. 3 and 7) that is located in (Fig. 7 and Fig. 3) the first light-shielding sub-region (the region corresponding to the bottom portion of 212, 22 and 72 in Fig. 4-5) and is connected to the plurality of common electrodes (the portions of 71 corresponding to each of 215 in Fig. 3, 5 and 7); the conductive connection portion (the portions of 71 corresponding to 81 in Fig. 3 and 7) is further connected to the common voltage line (53 in Fig. 3 and 6-7).
Liao teaches a pixel electrode layer and a common electrode layer are set to form an In-Plane Switching (IPS) type liquid crystal display panel (Page 5, Paragraph 9). Liao does not explicitly point out that the second conductive layer includes the plurality of common electrodes and a plurality of pixel electrodes that are located in the plurality of sub-pixel regions and the conductive connection portion; and the plurality of common electrodes and the plurality of pixel electrodes are arranged at intervals, and are all of a comb-tooth structure including a plurality of strip-shaped sub-electrodes.
Jo teaches that (Fig. 1-5, Pages 4-7 of English translation of KR20170063009A) a first conductive layer (the layer of 101 in Fig. 3-5) includes a common voltage line (101 in Fig. 3-5), a second conductive layer (the layer of 150, 160, 170 in Fig. 3-5) includes the plurality of common electrodes (150 in Fig. 3-4) and a plurality of pixel electrodes (160 in Fig. 3-5) that are located in the plurality of sub-pixel regions (the region corresponding to P in Fig. 2-3) and a conductive connection portion (the portion 170 corresponding to the via connected to 101 in Fig. 3 and 5); and the plurality of common electrodes (150 in Fig. 3-4) and the plurality of pixel electrodes (160 in Fig. 3-5) are arranged at intervals (Fig. 3-4), and are all of a comb-tooth structure including a plurality of strip-shaped sub-electrodes (Fig. 3-4).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to the artisan of ordinary skill to employ the above elements as taught by Jo for the system of Liao such that in the system of Liao, the first conductive layer includes a common voltage line located in the first light-shielding sub-region, the second conductive layer includes the plurality of common electrodes and a plurality of pixel electrodes that are located in the plurality of sub-pixel regions and the conductive connection portion; and the plurality of common electrodes and the plurality of pixel electrodes are arranged at intervals, and are all of a comb-tooth structure including a plurality of strip-shaped sub-electrodes. The motivation is to provide an IPS mode liquid crystal display device with dummy pixels, realization of a narrow bezel, high image quality and a large screen (Jo, Page 4, Paragraph 11, Page 2, Paragraphs 2-3 and 8, Page 3, Paragraph 3).
Regarding claims 2, 4, 8, 10 and 20, Liao also teaches the following elements:
(Claim 2) the light-shielding pattern layer (the layer corresponding to 21 and 22 in Fig. 3-4) includes a first light-shielding portion (the bottom portion of 22 in Fig. 4-5) located in the first light-shielding sub-region (the region corresponding to the bottom portion of 212, 22 and 72 in Fig. 4-5), and a first gap (the gap between 21 and 22 in Fig. 4) exists between the first light-shielding portion (the bottom portion of 22 in Fig. 4-5) and the display region (101 in Fig. 4).
(Claim 4) the light-shielding structure layer (the layer corresponding to the light-shielding common electrode 72 in Fig. 3-4) includes a first light-shielding structure (the structure corresponding to 72 in Fig. 3-4), and an orthographic projection of the first light-shielding structure (the structure corresponding to 72 in Fig. 3-4) on the first substrate covers (Fig. 3-5, Page 5, last paragraph) the first gap (the gap between 21 and 22 in Fig. 4).
(Claim 8) wherein the second light-shielding region (the region corresponding to 212, 22 and 72 in Fig. 4-5) further includes a second light-shielding sub-region (the region corresponding to the left, top and right portions of 212, 22 and 72 in Fig. 4-5) other than the first light-shielding sub-region (the region corresponding to the bottom portion of 212, 22 and 72 in Fig. 4-5); the light-shielding pattern layer (the layer corresponding to 21 and 22 in Fig. 3-4) includes a second light-shielding portion (the left, top and right portions of 212 in Fig. 4) located in the second light-shielding sub-region (the region corresponding to the left, top and right portions of 212, 22 and 72 in Fig. 4-5), and the second light-shielding portion (the left, top and right portions of 212 in Fig. 4) extends from a boundary of the display region (101 in Fig. 4) to a side away from the display region (Fig. 4).
(Claim 10) the light-shielding structure layer (the layer corresponding to the light-shielding common electrode 72 in Fig. 3-4) includes a second light-shielding structure (the structure corresponding to 72 in Fig. 3-4), and an orthographic projection of the second light-shielding structure (the structure corresponding to 72 in Fig. 3-4) on the first substrate covers (Fig. 3-5, Page 5, last paragraph) at least a region (the left, top and right portions of the gap between 22 and 212 in Fig. 4) located on a side of the second light-shielding portion (the left, top and right portions of 212 in Fig. 4) away from the display region (101 in Fig. 4).
(Claim 20) A display device (Page 2), comprising: the display panel (Fig. 3-10, Pages 2-7).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liao in view of Jo as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Dong (US 2017/0235186).
Regarding claim 3, Liao teaches the first gap (the gap between 21 and 22 in Fig. 4). Liao does not teach the following elements.
Dong teaches the following elements:
(Claim 3) a dimension of a first gap (the gap within the black matrix in Fig. 4, which is corresponding to 34 in Fig. 3A, [0032, 0059]) is greater than or equal to 10 µm, or 20 µm ([0032, 0059]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to the artisan of ordinary skill to employ the above elements as taught by Dong for the system of Liao in view of Jo such that in the system of Liao in view of Jo,
(Claim 3) in a direction perpendicular to an extension direction of a side of the display region proximate to the first light-shielding portion, a dimension of the first gap is greater than or equal to 5 µm.
The motivation is to ensure that the charges on the black matrix are not released and the charges of the display device are balanced, and the picture quality of the display device is ensured after flush cutting, so as to solve the problem of a greenish picture of the display device in flush-cut products (Dong, [0017]).
Claims 5, 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liao in view of Jo as applied to claims 4 and 10 above, and further in view of Im (US 2016/0342016).
Regarding claims 5, 11 and 12, Liao does not teach the following elements.
Im teaches the following elements (Fig. 1-3 and Fig. 8-10, [0101-0112]):
(Claim 5) a first light-shielding structure (the structure corresponding to 120, 130 and 140 in Fig. 3, [0065, 0067]) includes at least two filter units (133a and 133b in Fig. 8, [0106]) of different colors (133a and 133b in Fig. 8, [0106]) that are stacked (Fig. 3).
(Clain 11) a second light-shielding structure (the structure of 120, 130 and 140 in Fig. 3 and 8) is located on a side of a second substrate proximate to a first substrate (Fig. 3 and 8-10), and the second light-shielding structure includes a filter unit (133a in Fig. 8, [0106]).
(Claim 12) the second light-shielding structure (the structure of 120, 130 and 140 in Fig. 3 and 8) further includes another filter unit (133b in Fig. 8, [0106]) disposed on a side of the filter unit (133a in Fig. 8, [0106]) away from the second substrate (Fig. 8), and the filter unit and the another filter unit are filter units of different colors (133a and 133b in Fig. 8, [0106]); or the second light-shielding structure further includes the another filter unit disposed on the side of the filter unit away from the second substrate, and the filter unit and the another filter unit are filter units of different colors; and the filter units of different colors include a blue filter unit and a red filter unit that are stacked (Fig. 8, [0106]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to the artisan of ordinary skill to employ the above elements as taught by Im for the system of Liao in view of Jo such that in the system of Liao in view of Jo,
(Claim 5) the first light-shielding structure includes at least two filter units of different colors that are stacked.
(Claim 11) the second light-shielding structure is located on a side of the second substrate proximate to the first substrate, and the second light-shielding structure includes a filter unit.
(Claim 12) the second light-shielding structure further includes another filter unit disposed on a side of the filter unit away from the second substrate, and the filter unit and the another filter unit are filter units of different colors; or the second light-shielding structure further includes the another filter unit disposed on the side of the filter unit away from the second substrate, and the filter unit and the another filter unit are filter units of different colors; and the filter units of different colors include a blue filter unit and a red filter unit that are stacked
The motivation is to help electrically connect the common electrodes and common lines between two substrates, and light shielding characteristics of the non-display area may be improved (Im, [0106, 0108, 0112]).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liao in view of Jo as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Chang (CN108427226A).
Regarding claim 9, Liao teaches that the light-shielding pattern layer (the layer corresponding to 21 and 22 in Fig. 3-4) further includes a third light-shielding portion (the left, top and right portions of 22 in Fig. 4) located in the second light-shielding sub-region (the region corresponding to the left, top and right portions of 212, 22 and 72 in Fig. 4-5) and located on a side of the second light-shielding portion (the left, top and right portions of 212 in Fig. 4) away from the display region (101 in Fig. 4). Liao does not teach the following elements.
Chang teaches the following elements (Fig. 2, 4 and 5, Pages 5-7 of English translation of CN108427226A):
(Claim 9) a third light-shielding portion (the portions of 120 outside the spacing gap B0 in the region corresponding to one or more of the other sides of BB/120 in Fig. 3) including a plurality of light-shielding sub-blocks (121 in Fig. 2 and 4-5) arranged at intervals (Fig. 2 and 4-5), and at least part of the light-shielding sub-blocks (121 in Fig. 2 and 4-5) being of different shapes (Fig. 2 and 4-5).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to the artisan of ordinary skill to employ the above elements as taught by Chang for the system of Yu such that in the system of Yu,
(Claim 9) the third light-shielding portion including a plurality of light-shielding sub-blocks arranged at intervals, and at least part of the light-shielding sub-blocks being of different shapes.
The motivation is to avoid the static in the black matrix so as to avoid abnormal display area and improve the display quality of the product (Chang, Abs).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liao in view of Jo as applied to claim 10 above, and further in view of Yanagis (US 2014/0028961).
Regarding claim 14, Liao teaches that the second light-shielding structure (the structure corresponding to 72 in Fig. 3-4) is located on a side of the second substrate proximate to the first substrate (Fig. 3). Liao does not teach the following elements.
Yanagis teaches the following elements (Fig. 3-4C, 18-19, [0013-0017, 0052-0056]):
(Claim 14) a frame sealant (20 in Fig. 3 and 18-19) located between the second substrate and the first substrate (Fig. 3 and 19), wherein in a case where a second light-shielding structure (142 in Fig. 3-4C, which is corresponding to 14 in Fig. 18-19, [0053-0056, 0016]) is located on the side of the second substrate proximate to the first substrate (Fig. 19), and an orthographic projection of the frame sealant (20 in Fig. 3 and 18-19) on the first substrate does not overlap with (Fig. 3 and 18) the orthographic projection of the second light-shielding structure (142 in Fig. 3-4C, which is corresponding to 14 in Fig. 18-19, [0053-0056, 0016]) on the first substrate.
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to the artisan of ordinary skill to employ the above elements as taught by Yanagis for the system of Liao in view of Jo such that in the system of Liao in view of Jo,
(Claim 14) a frame sealant located between the second substrate and the first substrate, wherein in a case where the second light-shielding structure is located on the side of the second substrate proximate to the first substrate, and an orthographic projection of the frame sealant on the first substrate does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the second light-shielding structure on the first substrate.
The motivation is to bond two substrates to provide a sandwiched space for liquid crystal, and achieve better contrast all around the screen (Yanagis, [0021, 0056]).
Claims 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liao in view of Jo as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Shao (US 2018/0224704).
Regarding claim 15-17, Liao does not teach the following elements.
Shao teaches the following elements (Fig. 2-8b, [0041-0089]):
(Claim 15) the light-shielding pattern layer (the layer corresponding to 14 in Fig. 2-8b, [0054]) includes: a plurality of fourth light-shielding portions (14 in Fig. 2, 5, 6a and 7) located in a first light-shielding region (the regions corresponding to the portions of 21 and 14 between the adjacent subpixels in Fig. 2-8b), wherein a second gap (the gap between adjacent 14 in Fig. 2, 5, 6a and 7) exists between two adjacent fourth light-shielding portions (14 in Fig. 2, 5, 6a and 7).
(Claim 16) at least one fourth light-shielding portion (14 in Fig. 2, 5, 6a and 7) in the plurality of fourth light-shielding portions (14 in Fig. 2, 5, 6a and 7) is disposed between (Fig. 2, 5, 6a and 7, Picture 2) two adjacent rows of sub-pixel regions (the rows of the subpixels in Picture 2); a fourth light-shielding portion (14 in Fig. 2, 5, 6a and 7) in the at least one fourth light-shielding portion (14 in Fig. 2, 5, 6a and 7) extends (Fig. 2, 5, 6a and 7, Picture 2) in a row direction of the plurality of sub-pixel regions (the horizontal direction in Picture 2) and extends across (Fig. 2, 5, 6a and 7, Picture 2) at least one sub-pixel region (the regions corresponding to R/G/B in Fig. 2) in the two adjacent rows of sub-pixel regions in the row direction (the horizontal direction in Picture 2).
(Claim 17) a light-shielding structure layer (the layer corresponding to 14 in Fig. 6a-6b, [0064-0068]) includes a plurality of third light-shielding structures (14 in Fig. 6a-6b, [0064-0068]), and each third light-shielding structure (14 in Fig. 6a-6b, [0064-0068]) separates two adjacent columns of sub-pixel regions in the plurality of sub-pixel regions (Fig. 6a).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to the artisan of ordinary skill to employ the above elements as taught by Shao for the system of Liao in view of Jo such that in the system of Liao in view of Jo,
(Claim 15) the light-shielding pattern layer includes a plurality of fourth light-shielding portions located in the first light-shielding region, and a second gap exists between two adjacent fourth light-shielding portions.
(Claim 16) at least one fourth light-shielding portion in the plurality of fourth light-shielding portions is disposed between two adjacent rows of sub-pixel regions; a fourth light-shielding portion in the at least one fourth light-shielding portion extends in a row direction of the plurality of sub-pixel regions and extends across at least one sub-pixel region in the two adjacent rows of sub-pixel regions in the row direction.
(Claim 17) the light-shielding structure layer includes a plurality of third light-shielding structures, and each third light-shielding structure separates two adjacent columns of sub-pixel regions in the plurality of sub-pixel regions.
The motivation is to provide a LCD panel having a larger aperture ratio and a higher transmittance (Shao, [0040, 0056]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-7, 13 and 18-19 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 of record discloses or suggests all the combination of a display panel as set forth in claims 6-7, 13 and 18-19.
Regarding claims 6-7, none of the prior art discloses or suggests a display panel recited in claim 1, wherein “the conductive connection portion is connected to the common voltage line through at least two via holes in the at least one insulating layer, and a portion of the conductive connection portion located between two adjacent via holes has a hollowed-out portion” in combination with the other required elements of the claim.
Regarding claim 13, none of the prior art discloses or suggests a display panel recited in claim 10, wherein “the second light-shielding region further includes a second light-shielding sub-region other than the first light-shielding sub-region; the light-shielding pattern layer includes a second light-shielding portion located in the second light-shielding sub-region, and the second light-shielding portion extends from a boundary of the display region to a side away from the display region; the light-shielding structure layer includes a second light-shielding structure, and an orthographic projection of the second light-shielding structure on the first substrate covers at least a region located on a side of the second light-shielding portion away from the display region; the second light-shielding structure is located on a side of the second substrate away from the first substrate, and the second light-shielding structure includes black ink” in combination with the other required elements of the claim.
Regarding claim 18, none of the prior art discloses or suggests a display panel recited in claim 17, wherein “the light-shielding structure layer includes a plurality of third light-shielding structures, and each third light-shielding structure separates two adjacent columns of sub-pixel regions in the plurality of sub-pixel regions; a color filter layer located on the second substrate, wherein the color filter layer includes a plurality of filter units, and each filter unit covers a column of sub-pixel regions; two adjacent filter units allow light of different colors to pass through, the two adjacent filter units partially overlap, and an overlapping portion of the two adjacent filter units is used as a third light-shielding structure in the plurality of third light-shielding structures” in combination with the other required elements of the claim.
Regarding claim 19, none of the prior art discloses or suggests a display panel recited in claim 17, wherein “the light-shielding structure layer includes a plurality of third light-shielding structures, and each third light-shielding structure separates two adjacent columns of sub-pixel regions in the plurality of sub-pixel regions; the third light-shielding structure includes at least two filter units of different colors that are stacked; or the third light-shielding structure includes the at least two filter units of different colors that are stacked, and the at least two filter units of different colors that are stacked include a blue filter unit and a red filter unit that are stacked” in combination with the other required elements of the claim.
Conclusion
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/Shan Liu/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
Prosecution Insights