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 .
Preliminary Amendment
The applicant’s amendment filed 2/12/2026 has been entered.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species A in the reply filed on 2/12/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 11-13 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 2/12/2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 9/19/2025 was filed and is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4, 7, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lin et al (US 2020/0041111 A1).
In regard to claim 1, Lin et al disclose a wide coverage light emitting and driving device package comprising:
a substrate (not numbered; see Figure 3);
a terminal layer (22) formed on one surface of the substrate;
a wiring layer (3) formed on the opposite surface of the substrate and electrically connected to the terminal layer through through-electrodes;
at least one light-emitting device (4) mounted on a portion of the wiring layer and disposed at a peripheral region of the substrate;
a driving element (5) mounted on another portion of the wiring layer, disposed at a central region of the substrate, and configured to drive the light-emitting device; and
a protective member (6) covering and protecting the light-emitting device and the driving element. (Figure 3 and 9; see at least [0021] onward)
In regard to claim 2, Lin et al disclose wherein the light-emitting device includes a plurality of light-emitting devices which are arranged symmetrically around the driving element in diagonal or cross directions to provide wide coverage of the optical path. (A line can be drawn to show that the LEDs are symmetric about the driver and at a diagonal angle.)
In regard to claim 4, Lin et al disclose the light-emitting devices includes at least one selected from a red LED, a green LED, a blue LED, a white LED, and combinations thereof. (See [0050])
In regard to claim 7, Lin et al disclose the light-emitting device is a micro-LED or a mini-LED (this is broad); the driving element is a driver IC (see [0021]) having at least one channel for driving the micro-LED; and the protective member comprises at least one material selected from silicone, epoxy, phosphor layers, quantum dots, light-transmissive materials (it is at least a light transmissive material), and combinations thereof, molded on the wiring layer.
In regard to claim 8, Lin et al disclose the light-emitting device includes a plurality of light-emitting devices, wherein the protective member comprises a planar molding member having a flat light-emitting surface.
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.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al (US 2020/0041111 A1) in view of Song et al (US 2013/0200796 A1).
In regard to claim 3, Lin et al fail to disclose that the light-emitting devices comprise at least two LEDs arranged respectively in a front-left, front-right, rear-left, and rear-right direction with respect to the driving element, or arranged respectively in a front, rear, left, and right direction with respect to the driving element.
Song et al teach light-emitting devices comprise at least two LEDs (24) arranged respectively in a front-left, front-right, rear-left, and rear-right direction with respect to the driving element (23), or arranged respectively in a front, rear, left, and right direction with respect to the driving element. (Figure 1; see at least [0056])
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to arrange the LEDs in the manner taught by Song et al in order to optimize the resulting light distribution.
Claim(s) 5, 6, 9, and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin et al (US 2020/0041111 A1).
In regard to claim 5, Lin et al disclose the light-emitting device includes a plurality of light-emitting devices, wherein the terminal layer comprises at least one pad portion formed at an outer corner region of a bottom surface of the substrate, and an extension portion extending from the at least one pad portion toward a central region of the bottom surface of the substrate.
Lin et al fails to disclose the wiring layer comprises a first wiring portion having one part electrically connected to a pad through-electrode formed in the at least one pad portion and another part connected to the driving element; a second wiring portion having one part electrically connected to an extension through-electrode formed in the extension portion and another part connected to the driving element; and a third wiring portion having one part connected to the driving element, another part connected to the light-emitting devices, and another part electrically connected to the pad through-electrode, or as recited in claim 6, the third wiring portion is formed in a spiral shape that gradually expands outwardly from the driving element, through all the light-emitting devices, to the pad through-electrode in an angular or rounded manner.
However, the pads, the LEDs, and driver are all circuited together. This limitation is merely a rearrangement of parts per MPEP 2144.04 VI C. The particular placement of a contact in conductive device was held to simply be a matter of design choice. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to optimize the circuit connecting the pads, the driver, and the LEDs in order to simplify the circuit.
In regard to claim 9 and 10, Lin et al fail disclose a backlight unit comprising the wide-area light-emitting driving package of claim 1 or a display device comprising the wide-area light-emitting driving package of claim 1.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to implement the package of claim 1 in a backlight or a display in order to illuminate the display.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Yamakawa et al (US 2012/0188763 A1) disclose a light fixture.
Collins (US 2014/0265921 A1) disclose a solid state light.
Tankala et al (US 2012/0307501 A1) disclose an LED.
Chen et al (US 2018/0177011 A1) disclose an integrated LED.
Kim et al (US 2024/0379642 A1) disclose a LED package.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER E DUNAY whose telephone number is (571)270-1222. The examiner can normally be reached 7:00 am - 6:00 pm.
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/CHRISTOPHER E DUNAY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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