DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of elect Invention II in the reply filed on 1/20/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 8 – 15 are pending for considerations.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 8 – 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 8 recites “a test element group” in line 3.
Claim 8 recites “the test element groups” in line 5.
Claim 8 is unclear “the test element groups” refers back to which “test element groups”?
Claims 9 – 15 have same issue because of claim dependency.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 8, 9, 12, 13, 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Koyama et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 20100163874 A1) in view of Lee et al. (U.S. Patent Publication 20210249500 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Koyama discloses “A display panel comprising:
a display area (Fig 1) in which a plurality of pixel driving circuits (Fig 1, 103 [0071] [0072]) is disposed; and
wherein the device comprises:
a driving transistor (Fig. 10. Thin film transistor 353, [0085] [0088]) having terminals respectively connected to pads; (Fig. 10 801, 802, [0150] [0152]) and
a first transistor (Fig. 10. Thin film transistor 355 [0154] [0155]) connected to a first end of the driving transistor and having a gate terminal (Fig. 11A, 902 Gate Terminal [0157] [0163]) connected to a pad. (Fig. 11A, 908, claim does not define what is “a pad”. Examiner interprets “908 third wire” consider as “a pad” under BRI. 33)
Koyama does not disclose a non-display area in which a test element group having a same structure as a structure of the pixel driving circuits is disposed,
Lee discloses a non-display area in which a test element group having a same structure as a structure of the pixel driving circuits is disposed, ([0010] A chip mount area is disposed on the non-display area. The chip mount area includes a data output pad unit, a lighting test transistor unit and a plurality of lines connecting the data output pad unit and the lighting test transistor unit. The lighting test transistor unit is configured to transfer at least one lighting test signal to the plurality of pixels through the data output pad unit. Claim does not define what is ”a test group”. Further, claim does not define what does it mean for “same structure”. [0057] – [0060])
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate device on non-display area by Lee into device of Koyama. The suggestion/motivation would have been to improve efficiency. (Lee: [0010])
Regarding claim 9, Koyama and Lee disclose wherein the first transistor is controlled to be turned off, (Koyama Fig 1, [0072] [0155] [0157]) and
characteristics of the driving transistor are measured through pads connected to the respective terminals of the driving transistor. (Koyama Fig 1, [0071] [0072])
Regarding claim 10, Koyama and Lee disclose wherein the first transistor is controlled to be turn off by an off voltage applied through the pad connected to the gate terminal of the first transistor. (Koyama [0154] [0155] [0157])
Regarding claim 12, Koyama and Lee disclose wherein the first end of the driving transistor comprises a source terminal of the driving transistor, and the source terminal of the driving transistor is connected to a source terminal of the first transistor. (Koyama [0155] - [0158])
Regarding claim 13, Koyama and Lee disclose wherein the test element groups further comprises a second transistor, and a source terminal of the first transistor is connected to a source terminal of the driving transistor, and a source terminal of the second transistor is connected to a gate terminal of the driving transistor. (Koyama [0160] - [0163])
Regarding claim 14, Koyama and Lee disclose wherein the first transistor is turned on by a sensing signal to transmit a signal to initialize a light-emitting device, and the second transistor is turned on by a scan signal to transmit a data signal. (Koyama [0160] - [0163])
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11, 15 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20170186957 A1 discloses a plurality of pads on non-display area on [0014]
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHUN-NAN LIN whose telephone number is (571)272-5646. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 7:30am - 6pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Benjamin C Lee can be reached at 571-2722963. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CHUN-NAN LIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2629
Prosecution Insights