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 .
Claims 27-29 are newly added. Claim 16 has been cancelled. Claims 2-14 and 22 are withdrawn. Claims 1, 15, 17-21, and 23-29 are currently under review.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed April 27, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. The Applicant argues on page 10 of the remarks that the Examiner may have referred to embodiments such as figure 21, that the claimed subject matter corresponds to figure 22 and not figure 21, and that the prosecution record should reflect that the invention is directed to the configuration of figure 22.
The Office disagrees. The response filed on December 1, 2025 clearly indicates that the “Applicant provisionally elects, with traverse the species of fig. 21”. The Applicant has erred in directing the claim limitations to figure 22, a non-elected species. Therefore a 112a rejection applies to all the claim limitations.
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.
Claim Objections
Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informalities: typographic errors. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 15, line 3: “layer that are stacked; and”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 15, 17-21, and 23-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The Applicant elected Species XV: figure 21 on December 1, 2025 however the claims are directed to figure 22, a non-elected species, as indicated in the remarks dated April 27, 2026. For the purposes of examination claims 1, 15, and 17-26 will be interpreted as indicated in the office action dated 1/26/2026
Claim 24 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The claim limitations require “the second insulation layers comprise the organic material” however paragraph 42 of the specification indicates “the second insulation layer 12 is an inorganic material layer”. Therefore for the purposes of examination, the Office will interpret the claim limitations “the second insulation layers comprise the organic material” as “the second insulation layers comprise the inorganic material”.
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 1, 15, 17-21, and 23-26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park et al. (Pub. No.: US 2021/0005676 A1) hereinafter referred to as Park as cited on the IDS dated 12/30/2024 in view of He et al. (Pub. No.: US 2022/0113854 A1) hereinafter referred to as He.
With respect to Claim 1, Park teaches a touch panel (fig. 4; ¶70), comprising: a touch region (fig. 4, item DA; ¶48; ¶71) and a peripheral region (fig. 4, item NDA and PAD; ¶142) arranged around the touch region, at least one metal layer (fig. 9, layer comprising items 420 and 440; ¶146) comprising a plurality of touch electrodes arranged in the touch region (fig. 4; ¶72) and a plurality of metal wirings (fig. 4, item SL2-1, SL2-2, … SL2-4 and SL1-1, SL1-2, …. SL1-5/TR; fig. 9, items 421 and 441) connected to the touch electrodes and arranged in the peripheral region; and at least two insulation layers (fig. 9, item 410, 411, 430, 431, 450, 451, 460, 461; ¶124; ¶148; ¶153; ¶186) stacked with the at least one metal layer (fig. 9, layer comprising items 420 and 440; ¶146) along a first direction, at least one of the at least two insulation layers comprising an organic material (fig. 9, items 430, 431, 450, 451, 460, and 461 are organic materials; ¶148; ¶153; ¶186) and at least one of the at least two insulation layers comprising an inorganic material (fig. 9, item 410 and 411 are inorganic materials; ¶124).
Park does not explicitly teach wherein a gap exists between an edge of at least one of the at least two insulation layers and an edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region.
He teaches a display panel (figs. 1-2; ¶38) , comprising: a display structure (fig. 1, item 51 to 91); ¶38); and a touch panel (fig. 1, items 92-10; ¶38) disposed at one side of the display structure, wherein the touch panel comprises: a touch region (fig. 2, region occupied by items 21 and 22: 20) and a peripheral region (fig. 2, region surround item 20) arranged around the touch region, at least one metal layer (fig. 1, layer comprising item 21) comprising a plurality of touch electrodes arranged in the touch region; and an insulation layer (fig. 1, item 10; ¶38) stacked with the at least one metal layer along a first direction; and wherein a gap (fig. 1, item 11, fig. 9, item 11) exists between an edge of at least one of the at least two layers (fig. 1, item 11 is between item 91 and 92) and an edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region (fig. 9, item 11 exists at an edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region; ¶38, “FIG. 9 is a large version of the X region in FIG. 2”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the touch panel of Park, such that a gap exists in item 411 of Park resulting in wherein a gap exists between an edge of at least one of the at least two insulation layers and an edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region, as taught by He, so as to alleviate stress on the display panel (¶5).
With respect to Claim 15, Park teaches a display panel (fig. 2, item DP; ¶56), comprising: a display structure comprising an array substrate (fig. 6: display structure on an array substrate: 100; ¶62; ¶85), a light-emitting layer (fig. 6, item 220; ¶105) and an encapsulation layer (fig. 6, item TFE; ¶115-116) that are stacked, a touch panel (fig. 2, fig. 4 and fig. 6, item TU; ¶85) disposed at one side of the display structure, wherein the touch panel comprises: a touch region (fig. 4, item DA; ¶48; ¶71) and a peripheral region (fig. 4, item NDA and PAD; ¶142) arranged around the touch region, at least one metal layer (fig. 9, layer comprising items 420 and 440; ¶146) comprising a plurality of touch electrodes arranged in the touch region (fig. 4; ¶72) and a plurality of metal wirings (fig. 4, item SL2-1, SL2-2, … SL2-4 and SL1-1, SL1-2, …. SL1-5/TR; fig. 9, items 421 and 441) connected to the touch electrodes and arranged in the peripheral region; and at least two insulation layers (fig. 9, item 410, 411, 430, 431, 450, 451, 460, 461; ¶124; ¶148; ¶153; ¶186) stacked with the at least one metal layer (fig. 9, layer comprising items 420 and 440; ¶146) along a first direction, at least one of the at least two insulation layers comprising an organic material (fig. 9, items 430, 431, 450, 451, 460, and 461 are organic materials; ¶148; ¶153; ¶186) and at least one of the at least two insulation layers comprising an inorganic material (fig. 9, item 410 and 411 are inorganic materials; ¶124).
Park does not explicitly teach wherein a gap exists between an edge of at least one of the at least two insulation layers and an edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region.
He teaches a display panel (figs. 1-2; ¶38) , comprising: a display structure (fig. 1, item 51 to 91); ¶38); and a touch panel (fig. 1, items 92-10; ¶38) disposed at one side of the display structure, wherein the touch panel comprises: a touch region (fig. 2, region occupied by items 21 and 22: 20) and a peripheral region (fig. 2, region surround item 20) arranged around the touch region, at least one metal layer (fig. 1, layer comprising item 21) comprising a plurality of touch electrodes arranged in the touch region; and an insulation layer (fig. 1, item 10; ¶38) stacked with the at least one metal layer along a first direction; and wherein a gap (fig. 1, item 11, fig. 9, item 11) exists between an edge of at least one of the at least two layers (fig. 1, item 11 is between item 91 and 92) and an edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region (fig. 9, item 11 exists at an edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region; ¶38, “FIG. 9 is a large version of the X region in FIG. 2”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the display panel of Park, such that a gap exists in item 411 of Park resulting in wherein a gap exists between an edge of at least one of the at least two insulation layers and an edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region, as taught by He, so as to alleviate stress on the display panel (¶5).
With respect to Claim 16, claim 15 is incorporated, Park does not teach wherein the insulation layer for which there exists the gap between its edge and the edge of the peripheral region comprises the inorganic material.
He teaches a display panel (figs. 1-2; ¶38) , comprising: a display structure (fig. 1, item 51 to 91); ¶38); and a touch panel (fig. 1, items 92-10; ¶38) disposed at one side of the display structure, wherein the touch panel comprises: a touch region (fig. 2, region occupied by items 21 and 22: 20) and a peripheral region (fig. 2, region surround item 20) arranged around the touch region, at least one metal layer (fig. 1, layer comprising item 21) comprising a plurality of touch electrodes arranged in the touch region; and an insulation layer (fig. 1, item 10; ¶38) stacked with the at least one metal layer along a first direction; and wherein a gap (fig. 1, item 11, fig. 9, item 11) exists between an edge of at least one of the at least two layers (fig. 1, item 11 is between item 91 and 92) and an edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region (fig. 9, item 11 exists at an edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region; ¶38, “FIG. 9 is a large version of the X region in FIG. 2”); wherein the insulation layer for which there exists the gap between its edge and the edge of the peripheral region comprises the inorganic material (¶43, “the materials for forming the insulating dielectric layer include but are not limited to silicon nitride” – silicon nitride is an inorganic material; ¶51, “the hollow patterns 11 are further arranged on one side of the touch signal lines 30 away from the touch region 12 (i.e., the hollow patterns 11 are also arranged in the frame region 14 of the insulating dielectric layer 10)”).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the display panel of Park, wherein the insulation layer for which there exists the gap between its edge and the edge of the peripheral region comprises the inorganic material, as taught by He, so as to alleviate stress on the display panel (¶5).
With respect to Claim 17, claim 15 is incorporated, Park and He combined teaches wherein the insulation layer (fig. 9, item 411) for which there exists the gap between its edge and the edge of the peripheral region is disposed at a side of the at least one metal layer (fig. 9, disposed to the bottom right of item 421 on the far left) close to the display structure (which is closer to the display structure than the gaps disposed to the bottom right of item 421 in the middle and far right), or the insulation layer for which there exists the gap between its edge and the edge of the peripheral region is disposed at a side of the at least one metal layer away from the display structure (fig. 9, disposed to the bottom right of item 421 on the far right which is away from the display structure compared to gaps on the far left and middle).
With respect to Claim 18, claim 15 is incorporated, Park teaches wherein the at least one metal layer (fig. 9, items 420 and 440) comprises two metal layers (in the left to right direction, shown in figure 9 as items 421 and 441 in the TR region in the left, center, and right).
Park does not teach and the insulation layer for which there exists the gap between its edge and the edge of the peripheral region is disposed between the two metal layers.
He teaches a display panel (figs. 1-2; ¶38) , comprising: a display structure (fig. 1, item 51 to 91); ¶38); and a touch panel (fig. 1, items 92-10; ¶38) disposed at one side of the display structure, wherein the touch panel comprises: a touch region (fig. 2, region occupied by items 21 and 22: 20) and a peripheral region (fig. 2, region surround item 20) arranged around the touch region, at least one metal layer (fig. 1, layer comprising item 21) comprising a plurality of touch electrodes arranged in the touch region; and an insulation layer (fig. 1, item 10; ¶38) stacked with the at least one metal layer along a first direction; and wherein a gap (fig. 1, item 11, fig. 9, item 11) exists between an edge of at least one of the at least two layers (fig. 1, item 11 is between item 91 and 92) and an edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region (fig. 9, item 11 exists at an edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region; ¶38, “FIG. 9 is a large version of the X region in FIG. 2”); and the insulation layer (fig. 1, item 10) for which there exists the gap (fig. 1, item 11) between its edge (fig. 1, edge between item 10 and 92)and the edge of the peripheral region (figs. 2 and 9, item 11: gap is disposed at the edge of the peripheral region closest to the touch region) is disposed between the two metal layers (fig. 9, item 11 is disposed between items 30).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the display panel of Park, such that a gap exists in item 411 of Park resulting in and the insulation layer for which there exists the gap between its edge and the edge of the peripheral region is disposed between the two metal layers, as taught by He, so as to alleviate stress on the display panel (¶5).
With respect to Claim 19, claim 15 is incorporated, Park teaches wherein the edge of the at least one of the at least two insulation layers (fig. 9, item 461, 431, and 411) is disposed between an edge of the touch region (fig. 9, item 461, 431, and 411 are adjacent to the touch region between the edge of the touch region and the pad which is the edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region) and the edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region.
With respect to Claim 20, claim 15 is incorporated, Park teaches a display apparatus (¶52), comprising the display panel according to claim 15.
With respect to Claim 21, claim 15 is incorporated, Park teaches wherein the at least two insulation layers comprise first insulation layers (fig. 9, items 430, 431, 450, 451, 460, and 461: first insulation layers), and the first insulation layers comprise one or more interlayer insulation layers (fig. 9, items 450 and 451: one interlayer insulation layer, items 430 and 431: another interlayer insulation layer) and an edge insulation layer (fig. 9, items 460 and 461: edge insulation layer).
With respect to Claim 23, claim 21 is incorporated, Park teaches wherein the at least two insulation layers comprise second insulation layers (fig. 9, item 410, 411, and 412; ¶124), and along the first direction, the at least one metal layer (fig. 9, layer comprising items 420 and 440) and the interlayer insulation layers (fig. 9, items 450 and 451: one interlayer insulation layer, items 430 and 431: another interlayer insulation layer) are positioned between the edge insulation layer (fig. 9, items 460 and 461: edge insulation layer) and at least one of the second insulation layers (fig. 9, item 410, 411, and 412).
With respect to Claim 24, claim 23 is incorporated, Park teaches wherein the second insulation layers comprise the inorganic material (fig. 9, item 410, 411, and 412; ¶124).
With respect to Claim 25, claim 15 is incorporated, Park does not teach wherein an orthographic projection of the at least one insulation layer comprising the inorganic material along the first direction is at least partially not overlapped with an orthographic projection of the peripheral region along the first direction, or the orthographic projection of the at least one insulation layer comprising the inorganic material along the first direction does not overlap with the orthographic projection of the peripheral region along the first direction at all.
He teaches a display panel (figs. 1-2; ¶38) , comprising: a display structure (fig. 1, item 51 to 91); ¶38); and a touch panel (fig. 1, items 92-10; ¶38) disposed at one side of the display structure, wherein the touch panel comprises: a touch region (fig. 2, region occupied by items 21 and 22: 20) and a peripheral region (fig. 2, region surround item 20) arranged around the touch region, at least one metal layer (fig. 1, layer comprising item 21) comprising a plurality of touch electrodes arranged in the touch region; and an insulation layer (fig. 1, item 10; ¶38) stacked with the at least one metal layer along a first direction; and wherein a gap (fig. 1, item 11, fig. 9, item 11) exists between an edge of at least one of the at least two layers (fig. 1, item 11 is between item 91 and 92) and an edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region (fig. 9, item 11 exists at an edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region; ¶38, “FIG. 9 is a large version of the X region in FIG. 2”); wherein an orthographic projection of the at least one insulation layer (similar to fig. 1, item 10 with item 11: gap in the X region of fig. 9) comprising the inorganic material along the first direction is at least partially not overlapped (at least partially no overlapped because item 11: gap is present) with an orthographic projection of the peripheral region along the first direction (similar to fig. 1, items 10 and 11 in x region).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the display panel of Park, wherein an orthographic projection of the at least one insulation layer comprising the inorganic material along the first direction is at least partially not overlapped with an orthographic projection of the peripheral region along the first direction, as taught by He, so as to alleviate stress on the display panel (¶5).
With respect to Claim 26, claim 15 is incorporated, Park teaches wherein an edge of the at least one insulation layer comprising the inorganic material (fig. 9, item 411: insulation layer comprising inorganic material is adjacent to the DA region) is disposed at an edge of the touch region (¶124); or the edge of the at least one insulation layer comprising the inorganic material (fig. 9, item 411: insulation layer comprising inorganic material is adjacent to the DA region; ¶124) is disposed in a region between the edge of the touch region and the edge of the peripheral region away from the touch region (fig. 9, item 411 is between area DA and area PAD).
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DONNA V Bocar whose telephone number is (571)272-0955. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30am to 5pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amr A Awad can be reached at (571)272-7764. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DONNA V Bocar/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2621
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