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 1, 6, 15-16, and 24 have been amended. No claims have been cancelled or added. Claims 1-25 are currently under review.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-25 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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, 9-10, 12, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (Pub. No.: US 2014/0306941 A1) in view of Mandlik et al. (Pub. No.: US 2018/0174505 A1) hereinafter referred to as Mandlik.
With respect to Claim 1, Kim teaches a display device (figs. 3-4, 5A, 5B, and 6A; ¶30; ¶76) comprising: a substrate (figs. 3-4 and 5B, item 101; fig. 6A, item 201; ¶31) including an active area (fig. 3-4 and 6A, item A/A: active area; ¶31-32) and a non-active area (fig. 3-4 and 6A, item N/A: non-active area; ¶31; ¶33); and a first gate driving circuit (fig. 3, item 130 on the right side: G/A, fig. 5B, item 111, or fig. 6A, item 230 on the right side; ¶33; ¶42; ¶85) disposed in the non-active area on the substrate, wherein the non-active area includes a first bending area (figs. 3-4 and 5B, item B/A; ¶42) between the active area and an area where the first gate driving circuit is disposed (fig. 4).
Kim does not mention a crack detection circuit disposed adjacent to the first gate driving circuit and located on a rear surface of the substrate.
Mandlik teaches a display device (fig. 1, item 10; ¶23) comprising: a substrate (¶28, “Flexible display 22 may be formed from thin-film circuitry (e.g., thin-film transistors, thin-film organic light-emitting diodes, etc.) on a polymer substrate such as a flexible polyimide substrate”); and a first gate driving circuit (fig. 1, item 42: display driver integrated circuit includes gate driver circuitry; ¶49, “the display driver circuitry of display 22 may include gate driver circuitry 90”) disposed in a non-active area on the substrate; and a crack detection circuit (¶34, “The circuitry for measuring and evaluating the resistances may be formed in display driver integrated circuit 42, in other display driver circuitry (e.g., thin-film gate driver circuitry or gate driver integrated circuits on the edges of pixel array 22A), or may be formed using components 48”) disposed adjacent to the first gate driving circuit (fig. 1, item 42; ¶34; ¶49; since the crack detection circuit is formed in item 42 and the gate driver is included in item 42, the crack detection circuit is adjacent to the gate driver) and located on a rear surface of the substrate (fig. 1).
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 device of Kim, to comprise a crack detection circuit disposed adjacent to the first gate driving circuit and located on a rear surface of the substrate, as taught by Mandlik so as to monitor resistance changes in one or more segments of the crack detection line that are indicative of cracking in the line and in structures elsewhere in the display (¶23).
With respect to Claim 9, claim 1 is incorporated, Kim teaches further comprising: an image display layer (fig. 4, image display layer comprises items 143, 141, 129, 121, 115, 105, 109, 103, and 107 or fig. 6, item 110; ¶77) disposed on the substrate, wherein the first gate driving circuit (fig. 5B, item 111; ¶78) is disposed to overlap with the image display layer on a rear surface of the substrate (fig. 5B).
With respect to Claim 10, claim 9 is incorporated, Kim teaches wherein the first bending area (fig. 5B, item B/A) is bent, and a portion of the substrate (fig. 5B, item 101) is bent toward the rear surface of the substrate (fig. 5B).
With respect to Claim 12, claim 1 is incorporated, Kim teaches further comprising: a first gate line (fig. 4, item 120) electrically connected to the first gate driving circuit and disposed to pass through the first bending area (fig. 4; ¶42; ¶50).
With respect to Claim 20, claim 12 is incorporated, Kim teaches wherein the first gate driving circuit outputs a scan signal to the first gate line (¶42, “a gate driving circuit on the non-active area (N/A) and the active area (A/A), and an auxiliary line 120 for electrically connecting the GIP area (G/A) to the active area (A/A)”; ¶50).
Claims 2, 8, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and Mandlik as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yoo et al. (Pub. No.: US 2024/0172494 A1) hereinafter referred to as Yoo.
With respect to Claim 2, claim 1 is incorporated, Kim teaches further comprising: a first support layer (fig. 5B, item 180) disposed on a rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active area (¶77, “A PET film 180 for preventing the substrate 101 from being warped during the fabrication process is adhered to the active area (A/A) on a rear surface of the substrate 101”) and a first adhesive layer disposed on the first support layer (fig. 5B, item 195; ¶79).
Kim and Mandlik combined do not teach further comprising: a second support layer disposed on the rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the first gate driving circuit; and a first adhesive layer disposed on the first support layer and the second support layer.
Yoo teaches a display device (fig. 1, item DP; ¶68-69) comprising: a substrate (fig. 2, item 10; ¶82) including an active area (fig. 1, item DA; ¶72) and a non-active area (fig. 1, item NDA; ¶72); wherein the non-active area includes a first bending area (fig. 1, item B/A); further comprising: a first support layer (fig. 5A, item 10a-1; ¶141) disposed on a rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active area (fig. 5A, active area overlaps with item ELS); a second support layer (fig. 5A, item 10a-2) disposed on the rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active layer (fig. 5A, active area overlaps with item ELS) and overlapping with a driving circuit (fig. 5A, item 52: driving circuit); and a first adhesive layer (fig. 5A, item 80; ¶143, “an adhesive member 80 may be disposed on the second support substrate 10a-2”) disposed on the first support layer and the second support layer.
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the combined display device of Kim and Mandlik, to replace the first support layer with Yoo and to further comprise: a second support layer disposed on the rear surface of the substrate and a first adhesive layer disposed on the first support layer and the second support layer resulting in the second support layer overlapping with the first gate driving circuit, as taught by Yoo so as to provide a display device capable of supporting a substrate after the substrate is bent, supporting force applied to the substrate, and improving quality by preventing or minimizing foreign materials while the display apparatus is manufactured (¶6).
With respect to Claim 8, claim 2 is incorporated, Kim does not teach wherein the first bending area is bent, and wherein the first support layer and the second support layer overlap with each other with the first adhesive layer disposed therebetween.
Yoo teaches a display device (fig. 1, item DP; ¶68-69) comprising: a substrate (fig. 2, item 10; ¶82) including an active area (fig. 1, item DA; ¶72) and a non-active area (fig. 1, item NDA; ¶72); wherein the non-active area includes a first bending area (fig. 1, item B/A); further comprising: a first support layer (fig. 5A, item 10a-1; ¶141) disposed on a rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active area (fig. 5A, active area overlaps with item ELS); a second support layer (fig. 5A, item 10a-2) disposed on the rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active layer (fig. 5A, active area overlaps with item ELS) and overlapping with a driving circuit (fig. 5A, item 52: driving circuit); and a first adhesive layer (fig. 5A, item 80; ¶143, “an adhesive member 80 may be disposed on the second support substrate 10a-2”) disposed on the first support layer and the second support layer; wherein the first bending area is bent (fig. 5A; ¶140), and wherein the first support layer and the second support layer overlap with each other with the first adhesive layer disposed therebetween (fig. 5A; ¶153).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the combined display device of Kim and Mandlik, wherein the first bending area is bent, and wherein the first support layer and the second support layer overlap with each other with the first adhesive layer disposed therebetween, as taught by Yoo so as to provide a display device capable of supporting a substrate after the substrate is bent, supporting force applied to the substrate, and improving quality by preventing or minimizing foreign materials while the display apparatus is manufactured (¶6).
With respect to Claim 11, claim 9 is incorporated, Kim teaches further comprising: an encapsulation layer (fig. 4, item 147) disposed on the image display layer (¶41).
Kim and Mandlik combined do not teach wherein the encapsulation layer is disposed in a part of the non-active area, and is not disposed in the first bending area.
Yoo teaches a display device (fig. 1, item DP; ¶68-69) comprising: a substrate (fig. 2, item 10; ¶82) including an active area (fig. 1, item DA; ¶72) and a non-active area (fig. 1, item NDA; ¶72); wherein the non-active area includes a first bending area (fig. 1, item B/A); further comprising: a first support layer (fig. 5A, item 10a-1; ¶141) disposed on a rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active area (fig. 5A, active area overlaps with item ELS); a second support layer (fig. 5A, item 10a-2) disposed on the rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active layer (fig. 5A, active area overlaps with item ELS) and overlapping with a driving circuit (fig. 5A, item 52: driving circuit); and a first adhesive layer (fig. 5A, item 80; ¶143, “an adhesive member 80 may be disposed on the second support substrate 10a-2”) disposed on the first support layer and the second support layer; further comprising: an encapsulation layer (fig. 5A, item 60; ¶134) disposed on an image display layer (fig. 5A, item ELS; ¶81); wherein the encapsulation layer is disposed in a part of the non-active area (fig. 5A, between item ELS and BPL), and is not disposed in the first bending area (fig. 5A).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the combined display device of Kim and Mandlik, wherein the encapsulation layer is disposed in a part of the non-active area, and is not disposed in the first bending area, as taught by Yoo so as to shield each display portion ELS completely (¶160).
Claims 3-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim, Mandlik, and Yoo as applied to claim 2 above, and further in view of Lee et al. (Patent No.: US 9,287,329 B1) hereinafter referred to as Lee.
With respect to Claim 3, claim 2 is incorporated, Kim teaches wherein the first adhesive layer comprises: a first adhesive disposed on the first support layer (fig. 5B, item 195; ¶79).
Kim, Mandlik, and Yoo combined not teach a second adhesive disposed on the second support layer; and a third adhesive disposed between the first adhesive and the second adhesive, and including a material different from the first adhesive and the second adhesive.
Lee teaches a display device (fig. 1, item 100; column 4, lines 66-67) comprising: a substrate (fig. 4, item 106: substrate; column 8, lines 18-49) including an active area (fig. 1, item active area; column 5, lines 1-3) and a non-active area (fig. 1, inactive area; column 5, lines 3-5); and a first gate driving circuit (fig. 1, item GIP on the right side) disposed in the non-active area on the substrate, wherein the non-active area includes a first bending area (fig. 1, bend portion on the right side or bottom side; fig. 4, bend portion; column 5, lines 33-37 and 56-62; column 7, lines 54-57); further comprising: a first support layer (fig. 4, item 108 that is closer to item 102; column 8, lines 18-20) disposed on a rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active area; a second support layer (fig. 4, item 108 farthest away from item 102) disposed on the rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active layer; and a first adhesive layer (fig. 4, item 118 closer to item 102; column 15, lines 23-35) disposed on the first support layer and the second support layer; wherein the first adhesive layer comprises: a first adhesive disposed on the first support layer (fig. 4, item 118 closer to item 102); a second adhesive (fig. 4, item 118 farthest away from item 102) disposed on the second support layer; and a third adhesive (fig. 4, item 116: polyimide which is a type of adhesive, column 14, lines 57-58 OR since the adhesive layer may be formed of multiple layers, the third adhesive is one of the plurality of layers between the first adhesive and the second adhesive, column 15, lines 23-35) disposed between the first adhesive and the second adhesive, and including a material different from the first adhesive and the second adhesive (the third adhesive is polyimide while the first and second adhesive may be a pressure-sensitive adhesive or the third adhesive is one of the plurality of layers and is a material selected different from the first and second adhesive).
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 combined display device of Kim, Mandlik, and Yoo, such that a second adhesive is disposed on the second support layer; and a third adhesive is disposed between the first adhesive and the second adhesive, and including a material different from the first adhesive and the second adhesive, as taught by Lee so as to secure the base that has been bent from the front to the back (column 15, line 23).
With respect to Claim 4, claim 3 is incorporated, Kim, Mandlik, and Yoo combined do not teach wherein each of the first adhesive and the second adhesive includes a pressure-sensitive adhesive, and wherein the third adhesive includes a double-sided tape, a foam tape, or a double-sided foam tape.
Lee teaches a display device (fig. 1, item 100; column 4, lines 66-67) comprising: a substrate (fig. 4, item 106: substrate; column 8, lines 18-49) including an active area (fig. 1, item active area; column 5, lines 1-3) and a non-active area (fig. 1, inactive area; column 5, lines 3-5); and a first gate driving circuit (fig. 1, item GIP on the right side) disposed in the non-active area on the substrate, wherein the non-active area includes a first bending area (fig. 1, bend portion on the right side or bottom side; fig. 4, bend portion; column 5, lines 33-37 and 56-62; column 7, lines 54-57); further comprising: a first support layer (fig. 4, item 108 that is closer to item 102; column 8, lines 18-20) disposed on a rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active area; a second support layer (fig. 4, item 108 farthest away from item 102) disposed on the rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active layer; and a first adhesive layer (fig. 4, item 118 closer to item 102; column 15, lines 23-35) disposed on the first support layer and the second support layer; wherein the first adhesive layer comprises: a first adhesive disposed on the first support layer (fig. 4, item 118 closer to item 102); a second adhesive (fig. 4, item 118 farthest away from item 102) disposed on the second support layer; and a third adhesive (fig. 4, item 116: polyimide which is a type of adhesive, column 14, lines 57-58 OR since the adhesive layer may be formed of multiple layers, the third adhesive is one of the plurality of layers between the first adhesive and the second adhesive, column 15, lines 23-35) disposed between the first adhesive and the second adhesive, and including a material different from the first adhesive and the second adhesive (the third adhesive is polyimide while the first and second adhesive may be a pressure-sensitive adhesive or the third adhesive is one of the plurality of layers and is a material selected different from the first and second adhesive); wherein each of the first adhesive and the second adhesive includes a pressure-sensitive adhesive (column 15, lines 25-26), and wherein the third adhesive includes a foam tape (column 15, lines 25-28, “The adhesive layer 118 may include a pressure-sensitive adhesive, a foam-type adhesive = foam tape, a liquid adhesive, a light-cured adhesive or any other suitable adhesive material”; column 15, lines 32-33, “The adhesive layer 118 may be formed of multiple layers, which includes a cushion layer interposed between an upper and a lower layers of an adhesive material”).
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 combined display device of Kim, Mandlik, and Yoo, wherein each of the first adhesive and the second adhesive includes a pressure-sensitive adhesive, and wherein the third adhesive includes a double-sided tape, a foam tape, or a double-sided foam tape, as taught by Lee so as to provide design alternatives.
With respect to Claim 5, claim 3 is incorporated, Kim teaches further comprising: a second gate driving circuit (fig. 6A, item 230 of the left side) in the non-active area disposed on the substrate opposite to the first gate driving circuit (fig. 6A), wherein the non-active area further includes a second bending area between the active area and an area where the second gate driving circuit is disposed (fig. 6A; ¶42; ¶87).
With respect to Claim 6, claim 5 is incorporated, Although Kim teaches bending of four side ends (¶87) such that the inactive area on the left side is bent wherein a second adhesive layer disposed on the first support layer (fig. 5B, item 195; ¶79), Kim and Mandlik combined do not teach further comprising: a third support layer disposed on the rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the second gate driving circuit; and a second adhesive layer disposed on the first support layer and the third support layer.
Yoo teaches a display device (fig. 1, item DP; ¶68-69) comprising: a substrate (fig. 2, item 10; ¶82) including an active area (fig. 1, item DA; ¶72) and a non-active area (fig. 1, item NDA; ¶72); wherein the non-active area includes a first bending area (fig. 1, item B/A); further comprising: a first support layer (fig. 5A, item 10a-1; ¶141) disposed on a rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active area (fig. 5A, active area overlaps with item ELS); a second support layer (fig. 5A, item 10a-2) disposed on the rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active layer (fig. 5A, active area overlaps with item ELS) and overlapping with a driving circuit (fig. 5A, item 52: driving circuit); and a first adhesive layer (fig. 5A, item 80; ¶143, “an adhesive member 80 may be disposed on the second support substrate 10a-2”) disposed on the first support layer and the second support layer.
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify the combined display device of Kim and Mandlik, to replace the first support layer with Yoo and to implement another side of the display panel to further comprise: a third support layer disposed on the rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the second gate driving circuit; and a second adhesive layer disposed on the first support layer and the third support layer, as taught by Yoo so as to provide a display device capable of supporting a substrate after the substrate is bent, supporting force applied to the substrate, and improving quality by preventing or minimizing foreign materials while the display apparatus is manufactured (¶6).
Kim teaches wherein the second adhesive layer comprises: a fourth adhesive disposed on the first support layer (fig. 5B, item 195; ¶79).
Kim, Mandlik, and Yoo combined do not teach wherein the second adhesive layer includes: a fifth adhesive disposed on the third support layer; and a sixth adhesive disposed between the fourth adhesive and the fifth adhesive, and including a material different from the fourth adhesive and the fifth adhesive.
Lee teaches a display device (fig. 1, item 100; column 4, lines 66-67) comprising: a substrate (fig. 4, item 106: substrate; column 8, lines 18-49) including an active area (fig. 1, item active area; column 5, lines 1-3) and a non-active area (fig. 1, inactive area; column 5, lines 3-5); and a first gate driving circuit (fig. 1, item GIP on the right side) disposed in the non-active area on the substrate, wherein the non-active area includes a first bending area (fig. 1, bend portion on the right side or bottom side; fig. 4, bend portion; column 5, lines 33-37 and 56-62; column 7, lines 54-57); further comprising: a first support layer (fig. 4, item 108 that is closer to item 102; column 8, lines 18-20) disposed on a rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active area; a second support layer (fig. 4, item 108 farthest away from item 102) disposed on the rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active layer; and a first adhesive layer (fig. 4, item 118 closer to item 102; column 15, lines 23-35) disposed on the first support layer and the second support layer; wherein the first adhesive layer comprises: a first adhesive disposed on the first support layer (fig. 4, item 118 closer to item 102); a second adhesive (fig. 4, item 118 farthest away from item 102) disposed on the second support layer; and a third adhesive (fig. 4, item 116: polyimide which is a type of adhesive, column 14, lines 57-58 OR since the adhesive layer may be formed of multiple layers, the third adhesive is one of the plurality of layers between the first adhesive and the second adhesive, column 15, lines 23-35) disposed between the first adhesive and the second adhesive, and including a material different from the first adhesive and the second adhesive (the third adhesive is polyimide while the first and second adhesive may be a pressure-sensitive adhesive or the third adhesive is one of the plurality of layers and is a material selected different from the first and second adhesive).
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 combined display device of Kim, Mandlik, and Yoo such that the left side of the display device comprising the second gate driving circuit is composed such that the second adhesive layer includes: a fifth adhesive disposed on the third support layer; and a sixth adhesive disposed between the fourth adhesive and the fifth adhesive, and including a material different from the fourth adhesive and the fifth adhesive, as taught by Lee so as to secure the base that has been bent from the front to the back (column 15, line 23).
With respect to Claim 7, claim 5 is incorporated, Kim teaches wherein the non-active area includes: a pad area (fig. 3, item 146: pad; fig. 6A, item 246; ¶34; ¶85); and a third bending area between the pad area and the active area (¶87).
Claims 13 and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and Mandlik as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Lee.
With respect to Claim 13, claim 12 is incorporated, Kim and Mandlik combined do not mention wherein the first gate line includes one or more holes disposed in an area corresponding to the first bending area.
Lee teaches a display device (fig. 1, item 100; column 4, lines 66-67) comprising: a substrate (fig. 4, item 106: substrate; column 8, lines 18-49) including an active area (fig. 1, item active area; column 5, lines 1-3) and a non-active area (fig. 1, inactive area; column 5, lines 3-5); and a first gate driving circuit (fig. 1, item GIP on the right side) disposed in the non-active area on the substrate, wherein the non-active area includes a first bending area (fig. 1, bend portion on the right side or bottom side; fig. 4, bend portion; column 5, lines 33-37 and 56-62; column 7, lines 54-57); further comprising: a first support layer (fig. 4, item 108 that is closer to item 102; column 8, lines 18-20) disposed on a rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active area; a second support layer (fig. 4, item 108 farthest away from item 102) disposed on the rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active layer; and a first adhesive layer (fig. 4, item 118 closer to item 102; column 15, lines 23-35) disposed on the first support layer and the second support layer; wherein the first adhesive layer comprises: a first adhesive disposed on the first support layer (fig. 4, item 118 closer to item 102); a second adhesive (fig. 4, item 118 farthest away from item 102) disposed on the second support layer; and a third adhesive (fig. 4, item 116: polyimide which is a type of adhesive, column 14, lines 57-58 OR since the adhesive layer may be formed of multiple layers, the third adhesive is one of the plurality of layers between the first adhesive and the second adhesive, column 15, lines 23-35) disposed between the first adhesive and the second adhesive, and including a material different from the first adhesive and the second adhesive (the third adhesive is polyimide while the first and second adhesive may be a pressure-sensitive adhesive or the third adhesive is one of the plurality of layers and is a material selected different from the first and second adhesive); further comprising: a first gate line electrically connected to the first gate driving circuit and disposed to pass through the first bending area (fig. 3B, conductive lines; column 7, lines 23-27); wherein the first gate line includes one or more holes disposed in an area corresponding to the first bending area (fig. 5, holes = bend pattern; column 14, lines 7-27; fig. 11A; column 33, lines 12-22).
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 combined display device of Kim and Mandlik, wherein the first gate line includes one or more holes disposed in an area corresponding to the first bending area, as taught by Lee so as to reduce strain on the traces in the bending area (column 33, lines 12-22).
With respect to Claim 15, claim 13 is incorporated, Kim and Mandlik combined do not teach wherein the holes are arranged in a direction crossing a direction along which the first gate line extends.
Lee teaches a display device (fig. 1, item 100; column 4, lines 66-67) comprising: a substrate (fig. 4, item 106: substrate; column 8, lines 18-49) including an active area (fig. 1, item active area; column 5, lines 1-3) and a non-active area (fig. 1, inactive area; column 5, lines 3-5); and a first gate driving circuit (fig. 1, item GIP on the right side) disposed in the non-active area on the substrate, wherein the non-active area includes a first bending area (fig. 1, bend portion on the right side or bottom side; fig. 4, bend portion; column 5, lines 33-37 and 56-62; column 7, lines 54-57); further comprising: a first support layer (fig. 4, item 108 that is closer to item 102; column 8, lines 18-20) disposed on a rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active area; a second support layer (fig. 4, item 108 farthest away from item 102) disposed on the rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active layer; and a first adhesive layer (fig. 4, item 118 closer to item 102; column 15, lines 23-35) disposed on the first support layer and the second support layer; wherein the first adhesive layer comprises: a first adhesive disposed on the first support layer (fig. 4, item 118 closer to item 102); a second adhesive (fig. 4, item 118 farthest away from item 102) disposed on the second support layer; and a third adhesive (fig. 4, item 116: polyimide which is a type of adhesive, column 14, lines 57-58 OR since the adhesive layer may be formed of multiple layers, the third adhesive is one of the plurality of layers between the first adhesive and the second adhesive, column 15, lines 23-35) disposed between the first adhesive and the second adhesive, and including a material different from the first adhesive and the second adhesive (the third adhesive is polyimide while the first and second adhesive may be a pressure-sensitive adhesive or the third adhesive is one of the plurality of layers and is a material selected different from the first and second adhesive); wherein the first gate line includes one or more holes disposed in an area corresponding to the first bending area (fig. 5, holes = bend pattern; column 14, lines 7-27; fig. 11A; column 33, lines 12-22); further comprising: a first gate line electrically connected to the first gate driving circuit and disposed to pass through the first bending area (fig. 3B, conductive lines; column 7, lines 23-27); wherein the holes are arranged in a direction crossing a direction along which the first gate line extends (fig. 11A-11B; column 14, lines 7-27, “the depth of the patterns may not be deep enough to penetrate through the component entirely but penetrate only partially through the respective layer”; column 33, lines 12-22).
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 combined display device of Kim and Mandlik, wherein the holes are arranged in a direction crossing a direction along which the first gate line extends, as taught by Lee so as to reduce strain on the traces in the bending area (column 33, lines 12-22).
With respect to Claim 16, claim 13 is incorporated, Kim and Mandlik combined do not teach wherein the holes are arranged in a direction along which the first gate line extends.
Lee teaches a display device (fig. 1, item 100; column 4, lines 66-67) comprising: a substrate (fig. 4, item 106: substrate; column 8, lines 18-49) including an active area (fig. 1, item active area; column 5, lines 1-3) and a non-active area (fig. 1, inactive area; column 5, lines 3-5); and a first gate driving circuit (fig. 1, item GIP on the right side) disposed in the non-active area on the substrate, wherein the non-active area includes a first bending area (fig. 1, bend portion on the right side or bottom side; fig. 4, bend portion; column 5, lines 33-37 and 56-62; column 7, lines 54-57); further comprising: a first support layer (fig. 4, item 108 that is closer to item 102; column 8, lines 18-20) disposed on a rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active area; a second support layer (fig. 4, item 108 farthest away from item 102) disposed on the rear surface of the substrate and overlapping with the active layer; and a first adhesive layer (fig. 4, item 118 closer to item 102; column 15, lines 23-35) disposed on the first support layer and the second support layer; wherein the first adhesive layer comprises: a first adhesive disposed on the first support layer (fig. 4, item 118 closer to item 102); a second adhesive (fig. 4, item 118 farthest away from item 102) disposed on the second support layer; and a third adhesive (fig. 4, item 116: polyimide which is a type of adhesive, column 14, lines 57-58 OR since the adhesive layer may be formed of multiple layers, the third adhesive is one of the plurality of layers between the first adhesive and the second adhesive, column 15, lines 23-35) disposed between the first adhesive and the second adhesive, and including a material different from the first adhesive and the second adhesive (the third adhesive is polyimide while the first and second adhesive may be a pressure-sensitive adhesive or the third adhesive is one of the plurality of layers and is a material selected different from the first and second adhesive); further comprising: a first gate line electrically connected to the first gate driving circuit and disposed to pass through the first bending area (fig. 3B, conductive lines; column 7, lines 23-27); wherein the first gate line includes one or more holes disposed in an area corresponding to the first bending area (fig. 5, holes = bend pattern; column 14, lines 7-27; fig. 11A; column 33, lines 12-22); wherein the holes are arranged in a direction crossing a direction along which the first gate line extends (fig. 11A-11B, conductive lines are disposed to extend in the bending area; column 14, lines 7-27; column 33, lines 12-22).
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 combined display device of Kim and Mandlik, wherein the holes are arranged in a direction crossing a direction along which the first gate line extends, as taught by Lee so as to reduce strain on the traces in the bending area (column 33, lines 12-22).
Claims 14 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim, Mandlik, and Lee as applied to claims 13 and 16 above, and further in view of Li (Pub. No.: US 2019/0371879 A1).
With respect to Claim 14, claim 13 is incorporated, Kim, Mandlik, and Lee combined do not explicitly teach wherein the one or more holes have an oval shape extending in a direction along which the first gate line extends.
Li teaches a display device (fig. 11; ¶90) comprising: a substrate (fig. 11, item 10; ¶39) including a first bending area (fig. 11, item 30); further comprising: a conductive line disposed to pass through the first bending area (¶90); wherein the conductive line (fig. 16) includes one or more holes disposed in an area corresponding to the first bending area (¶108-109); wherein the one or more holes have an oval shape extending in a direction along which the first gate line extends (fig. 16, top view shows holes).
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 combined display device of Kim, Mandlik, and Lee, wherein the one or more holes have an oval shape extending in a direction along which the first gate line extends, as taught by Li so as to avoid signal interruption (¶109).
With respect to Claim 17, claim 16 is incorporated, Kim, Mandlik, and Lee combined do not explicitly teach wherein the holes are configured in circular rings combined with each other.
Li teaches a display device (fig. 11; ¶90) comprising: a substrate (fig. 11, item 10; ¶39) including a first bending area (fig. 11, item 30); further comprising: a conductive line disposed to pass through the first bending area (¶90); wherein the conductive line (fig. 16) includes one or more holes disposed in an area corresponding to the first bending area (¶108-109); wherein the holes are configured in circular rings combined with each other (fig. 16, top view shows holes that are combined with each thru a connection point).
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 combined display device of Kim, Mandlik, and Lee, wherein the holes are configured in circular rings combined with each other, as taught by Li so as to avoid signal interruption (¶109).
Claims 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and Mandlik as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Wu et al. (Pub. No.: US 2021/0249446 A1) hereinafter referred to as Wu.
With respect to Claim 18, claim 12 is incorporated, Kim teaches wherein the first gate line (fig. 4, item 120 is a single wire in a single layer = single wiring form) is configured in a single wiring form in a portion connected to the first gate driving circuit (¶42, “an auxiliary line 120 for electrically connecting the GIP area (G/A) to the active area (A/A)”), and in a single wiring form in the active area (fig. 4, item 120 extends into the active area in a single wire in a single layer; ¶42, “an auxiliary line 120 for electrically connecting the GIP area (G/A) to the active area (A/A)”).
Kim and Mandlik combined do not teach wherein the first gate line is configured in a multiple wiring form in the first bending area.
Wu teaches a display device (fig. 1A and 1B; ¶23) comprising: a substrate (fig. 1A and 1B, item 110; ¶23); a first gate driving circuit (fig. 1A and 1B, item 130; ¶28) disposed on the substrate, wherein the substrate includes a first bending area (fig. 1B, item 112: first bending area; fig 4B, item 412: first bending area; ¶24; ¶40); further comprising: a first gate line (fig. 4B, item 474 and TR; fig. 8, item 872; ¶41; ¶44; ¶51) disposed to pass through the first bending area (¶51-52); wherein the first gate line is configured in a single wiring form in a portion connected to the first gate driving circuit (fig. 4B, item 430 is a single component in a single layer = single wiring form), in a multiple wiring form in the first bending area (fig. 4C, TR is comprised of items 11, 12, 13, and 14 = multiple wiring form; ¶45; fig. 8, item 812: bent portion; item 872 = item 872 + 13 + 14 in area 812 = multiple wiring form), and in a single wiring form in the active area (fig. 4B, item 474 is in a single layer; fig. 8, item 814 = main portion/active area, item 872 has only one wire in section 814 and is therefore in single wiring form).
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 combined display device of Kim and Mandlik, wherein the first gate line is configured in a multiple wiring form in the first bending area, as taught by Wu so as to reduce the tendency of the first gate line from breaking (¶52).
With respect to Claim 19, claim 18 is incorporated, Kim and Mandlik combined do not mention wherein a same signal is configured to be supplied to multiple wirings of the multiple wiring form simultaneously.
Wu teaches a display device (fig. 1A and 1B; ¶23) comprising: a substrate (fig. 1A and 1B, item 110; ¶23); a first gate driving circuit (fig. 1A and 1B, item 130; ¶28) disposed on the substrate, wherein the substrate includes a first bending area (fig. 1B, item 112: first bending area; fig 4B, item 412: first bending area; ¶24; ¶40); further comprising: a first gate line (fig. 4B, item 474 and TR; fig. 8, item 872; ¶41; ¶44; ¶51) disposed to pass through the first bending area (¶51-52); wherein the first gate line is configured in a single wiring form in a portion connected to the first gate driving circuit (fig. 4B, item 430 is a single component in a single layer = single wiring form), in a multiple wiring form in the first bending area (fig. 4C, TR is comprised of items 11, 12, 13, and 14 = multiple wiring form; ¶45; fig. 8, item 812: bent portion; item 872 = item 872 + 13 + 14 in area 812 = multiple wiring form), and in a single wiring form in the active area (fig. 4B, item 474 is in a single layer; fig. 8, item 814 = main portion/active area, item 872 has only one wire in section 814 and is therefore in single wiring form); wherein a same signal (fig. 4C, signal applied to item 12) is configured to be supplied to multiple wirings (fig. 4C, item 11, 13, and 14) of the multiple wiring form simultaneously (fig. 4C; ¶46, “design of the multiple connections among the trace layers can reduces the possibility of short-circuit failure due to the occurrence of cracks in the bent portion 412”).
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 combined display device of Kim and Mandlik, wherein the first gate line is configured in a multiple wiring form in the first bending area, as taught by Wu so as to reduce the possibility of short-circuit failure due to the occurrence of cracks in the first bending area (¶46).
Claims 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and Mandlik as applied to claim 20 above, and further in view of Kanaya (Pub. No.: US 2018/0294328 A1).
With respect to Claim 21, claim 20 is incorporated, Kim teaches further comprising: an image display layer (fig. 4, image display layer comprises items 143, 141, 129, 121, 115, 105, 109, 103, and 107 or fig. 6, item 110; ¶77) disposed on the substrate, wherein the image display layer includes a plurality of subpixels (¶32; ¶40; ¶45), and wherein each of the plurality of subpixels includes: a light emitting device (¶40, organic light emitting diode); a driving transistor (fig. 4, item TR1; ¶45) configured to drive the light emitting device; and a scan transistor (switching thin film transistor (not shown); ¶40; ¶45; ¶49; ¶54).
Kim and Mandlik combined do not explicitly teach a scan transistor disposed between a gate node of the driving transistor and a data line.
Kanaya teaches a display device (fig. 1, item 100; ¶20) comprising: a substrate (fig. 5, item 200; ¶22); and a driving circuit (fig. 5, item 212; ¶29) disposed on the substrate, wherein the substrate includes a first bending area (fig. 5, item 208; ¶24); further comprising: a first gate line electrically connected to the first gate driving circuit and disposed to pass through the first bending area; wherein the first gate driving circuit outputs a scan signal to the first gate line; further comprising: an image display layer (fig. 5, image display layer is shown in figure 4 which includes components between item 51 and 200 which are not shown; ¶67) disposed on the substrate, wherein the image display layer includes a plurality of subpixels (fig. 2, item 206; fig. 6, item 500; ¶23; ¶79), and wherein each of the plurality of subpixels includes: a light emitting device (fig. 6, item 516; ¶79); a driving transistor (fig. 6, item 514; ¶79) configured to drive the light emitting device; and a scan transistor (fig. 6, item 510; ¶79) disposed between a gate node of the driving transistor and a data line (fig. 6, item 502: data line).
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 combined display device of Kim and Mandlik, wherein a scan transistor is disposed between a gate node of the driving transistor and a data line, as taught by Kanaya so as to provide a common pixel driving circuit arrangement.
With respect to Claim 22, claim 21 is incorporated, Kim teaches wherein one of a semiconductor layers of each of the driving transistor and the scan transistor includes one of polysilicon (¶46).
Claim 23 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim and Mandlik as applied to claim 20 above, and further in view of Choi (Pub. No.: US 2023/0165073 A1).
With respect to Claim 23, claim 20 is incorporated, Kim teaches further comprising: an image display layer disposed on the substrate (fig. 4, image display layer comprises items 143, 141, 129, 121, 115, 105, 109, 103, and 107 or fig. 6, item 110; ¶77), wherein the image display layer includes a plurality of subpixels (¶32; ¶40; ¶45).
Kim and Mandlik combined do not teach wherein the first gate driving circuit outputs an emission control signal to a second gate line, and wherein the plurality of subpixels are controlled by the scan signal and the emission control signal.
Choi teaches a display device (fig. 1, item 1; ¶61) comprising: a substrate (fig. 9, item SUB; ¶143) including an active area (fig. 2, item DA: active area) and a non-active area (fig. 2, item NDA: non-active area); and a first gate driving circuit (fig. 2, item 400; ¶71) disposed in the non-active area on the substrate; further comprising: a first gate line electrically connected to the first gate driving circuit (fig. 2); wherein the first gate driving circuit outputs a scan signal to the first gate line; further comprising: an image display layer (fig. 2, item DA: active area is an image display area; fig. 9, image display layer is shown in figure 9 which includes components TFE to BF) disposed on the substrate, wherein the image display layer includes a plurality of subpixels (fig. 2, item SP; ¶67), and wherein each of the plurality of subpixels includes: a light emitting device (fig. 4, item EL; ¶87); a driving transistor (fig. 4, item DT; ¶86) configured to drive the light emitting device; and a scan transistor (fig. 4, item ST4; ¶93); wherein the first gate driving circuit (fig. 2, item 400; ¶71-72) outputs an emission control signal to a second gate line, and wherein the plurality of subpixels are controlled by the scan signal and the emission control signal (¶73-74; ¶93; ¶95).
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 combined display device of Kim and Mandlik, wherein the first gate driving circuit outputs an emission control signal to a second gate line, and wherein the plurality of subpixels are controlled by the scan signal and the emission control signal, as taught by Choi so as to provide a design alternative.
Claims 24-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim, Wu, and Mandlik.
With respect to Claim 24, Kim teaches a display device (figs. 3-4, 5A, 5B, and 6A; ¶30; ¶76) comprising: a substrate (figs. 3-4 and 5B, item 101; fig. 6A, item 201; ¶31) including an active area (fig. 3-4 and 6A, item A/A: active area; ¶31-32) and a non-active area (fig. 3-4 and 6A, item N/A: non-active area; ¶31; ¶33); a first gate driving circuit (fig. 3, item 130 on the right side: G/A, fig. 5B, item 111, or fig. 6A, item 230 on the right side; ¶33; ¶42; ¶85) disposed in the non-active area on the substrate; and a first gate line (fig. 4, item 120) electrically connected to the first gate driving circuit and extending to the active area (fig. 4, item 120 extends from GIP area (G/A) including a gate driving circuit to AA; ¶42; ¶50), wherein the first gate line (fig. 4, item 120 is a single wire in a single layer = single wiring form) is configured in a single wiring form in a portion connected to the first gate driving circuit (¶42, “an auxiliary line 120 for electrically connecting the GIP area (G/A) to the active area (A/A)”; ¶50), in an area between the active area and an area where the first gate driving circuit is disposed (fig. 4, area B/A), and in a single wiring form in the active area (fig. 4, item 120 extends into the active area in a single wire in a single layer; ¶42, “an auxiliary line 120 for electrically connecting the GIP area (G/A) to the active area (A/A)”).
Kim does not teach wherein the first gate line is configured in a multiple wiring form in an area between the active area and an area where the first gate driving circuit is disposed.
Wu teaches a display device (fig. 1A and 1B; ¶23) comprising: a substrate (fig. 1A and 1B, item 110; ¶23); a first gate driving circuit (fig. 1A and 1B, item 130; ¶28) disposed on the substrate, wherein the substrate includes a first bending area (fig. 1B, item 112: first bending area; fig 4B, item 412: first bending area; ¶24; ¶40); further comprising: a first gate line (fig. 4B, item 474 and TR; fig. 8, item 872; ¶41; ¶44; ¶51) disposed to pass through the first bending area (¶51-52); wherein the first gate line is configured in a single wiring form in a portion connected to the first gate driving circuit (fig. 4B, item 430 is a single component in a single layer = single wiring form), in a multiple wiring form (fig. 4C, TR is comprised of items 11, 12, 13, and 14 = multiple wiring form; ¶45; fig. 8, item 812: bent portion; item 872 = item 872 + 13 + 14 in area 812 = multiple wiring form) in an area (fig. 4B, TR = area between active area and area where the first gate driving circuit is disposed) between an active area (fig. 4B, item 414: active area) and an area where the first gate driving circuit is disposed, and in a single wiring form in the active area (fig. 4B, item 474 is in a single layer; fig. 8, item 814 = main portion/active area, item 872 has only one wire in section 814 and is therefore in single wiring form).
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 device of Kim, wherein the first gate line is configured in a multiple wiring form in an area between the active area and an area where the first gate driving circuit is disposed, as taught by Wu so as to reduce the tendency of the first gate line from breaking (¶52).
Kim and Wu combined do not teach a crack detection circuit disposed adjacent to the first gate driving circuit and located on a rear surface of the substrate.
Mandlik teaches a display device (fig. 1, item 10; ¶23) comprising: a substrate (¶28, “Flexible display 22 may be formed from thin-film circuitry (e.g., thin-film transistors, thin-film organic light-emitting diodes, etc.) on a polymer substrate such as a flexible polyimide substrate”); and a first gate driving circuit (fig. 1, item 42: display driver integrated circuit includes gate driver circuitry; ¶49, “the display driver circuitry of display 22 may include gate driver circuitry 90”) disposed in a non-active area on the substrate; and a crack detection circuit (¶34, “The circuitry for measuring and evaluating the resistances may be formed in display driver integrated circuit 42, in other display driver circuitry (e.g., thin-film gate driver circuitry or gate driver integrated circuits on the edges of pixel array 22A), or may be formed using components 48”) disposed adjacent to the first gate driving circuit (fig. 1, item 42; ¶34; ¶49; since the crack detection circuit is formed in item 42 and the gate driver is included in item 42, the crack detection circuit is adjacent to the gate driver) and located on a rear surface of the substrate (fig. 1).
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 combined display device of Kim and Wu, to comprise a crack detection circuit disposed adjacent to the first gate driving circuit and located on a rear surface of the substrate, as taught by Mandlik so as to monitor resistance changes in one or more segments of the crack detection line that are indicative of cracking in the line and in structures elsewhere in the display (¶23).
With respect to Claim 25, claim 24 is incorporated, Kim teaches wherein the area (fig. 4, area = B/A) between the active area (fig. 4, active area = A/A) and the area where the first gate driving circuit is disposed (fig. 4, area where the first gate driving circuit is disposed = G/A) is bendable.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
NA (Pub. No.: US 2024/0265837 A1) hereinafter referred to as NA, see figure 2 and ¶58.
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/DONNA V Bocar/Examiner, Art Unit 2621