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 .
Claim Objections
Claims 1 and 18-20 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 recites “A splicing display module, comprising”, which should have been “A splicing display module, comprising: ” instead.
Claim 18 recites “wherein the splicing display module comprises a first display module and a second display module spliced to each other, the second display module is partially disposed on the second substrate”, which should have been “wherein the splicing display module comprises the first display module and the second display module spliced to each other, the second display module is partially disposed on the second substrate” instead.
Claim 19 recites “wherein the first display module comprises a first substrate and a second substrate disposed opposite to each other, the first substrate comprises a main body and an extension portion, the main body and the second substrate are disposed opposite to each other, the extension portion is disposed to extend beyond the edge of the second substrate, a driving trace is disposed on the extension portion; the second display module is at least disposed on the extension portion and is connected with the driving trace”, which should have been “wherein the first display module comprises the first substrate and the second substrate disposed opposite to each other, the first substrate comprises the main body and the extension portion, the main body and the second substrate are disposed opposite to each other, the extension portion is disposed to extend beyond the edge of the second substrate, the driving trace is disposed on the extension portion; the second display module is at least disposed on the extension portion and is connected with the driving trace” instead
Claim 20 recites “wherein the first display module comprises a first substrate and a second substrate disposed opposite to each other, the first substrate comprises a main body and an extension portion, the main body and the second substrate are disposed opposite to each other, the extension portion is disposed to extend beyond the edge of the second substrate, a driving trace is disposed on the extension portion”, which should have been “wherein the first display module comprises the first substrate and the second substrate disposed opposite to each other, the first substrate comprises the main body and the extension portion, the main body and the second substrate are disposed opposite to each other, the extension portion is disposed to extend beyond the edge of the second substrate, the driving trace is disposed on the extension portion” instead
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because:
Fig. 1 is inconsistent with Fig. 5. Fig. 1 shows a first sub-portion 211 is on the right and has thicker portion while a second sub-portion 212 is on the left with thinner portion, but Fig. 5 shows the opposite. Also, 212 in Fig. 1 appear to point to right end of upper polarizer 13. Based on claim 3, it appears Fig. 5 should be the correct drawing.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore,
“a plurality of first transistors are disposed in the main body, a plurality of second transistors are disposed in the extension portion, the first transistor is disposed on the same layer with the second transistor” in claim 8,
“a first end of the first substrate is spaced apart from a second end of the first substrate adjacent thereto, and wherein the first end is close to the second end” in claim 15,
“a plurality of first transistors are disposed in the main body, a plurality of second transistors are disposed in the extension portion, the first transistor is disposed on the same layer with the second transistor” in claim 19
must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claim 15 is 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 15 recites “wherein a first end of the first substrate is spaced apart from a second end of the first substrate adjacent thereto, and wherein the first end is close to the second end”. It’s unclear what this limitation is claiming. Also, Fig. 1 shows first substrate 12 has a left end and a right end, and the two ends are neither adjacent nor close to each other. Thus, claim 15 can’t be examined.
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.
Claims 1-2, 8-14 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (US 2018/0173036; hereinafter “Kim”) in view of Hu (CN 114822286).
Regarding claim 1, Kim teaches a splicing display module (Figs. 1-14), comprising:
a first display module (such as left 110 in Fig. 11) and a second display module (such as 200b in Fig. 11) spliced to each other, wherein the first display module comprises a first substrate (111 and/or 115, Fig. 11) and a second substrate (117 and/or 113, Fig. 11) disposed opposite to each other,
the first substrate comprises a main body (main body under AA in Fig. 11) and an extension portion (extension portion under IA not overlapping 117 and 113 in Fig. 11), the main body and the second substrate are disposed opposite to each other (as shown in Fig. 11), the extension portion is disposed to extend beyond the edge of the second substrate (as shown in Fig. 11), a driving trace (not explicit, but must have driving trace in extension portion to connect to PP; can refer PP in Fig. 1; [0077]: “… driving circuit 300 may be connected to the pad part PP…”) is disposed on the extension portion;
the second display module is at least disposed on the extension portion (200b on IA as shown in Fig. 11).
Kim does not teach the second display module is connected with the driving trace. However, Hu teaches a splicing display module (Figs. 1-12), comprising: a second display module (20, Figs. 6, 8 and 10-11) is at least disposed on an extension portion (extension of 103, Fig. 8; can refer to Fig. 11) and is connected with a driving trace (same as trace in 201 of 20, can refer to Fig. 6 or Fig. 10) on the extension portion. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have the second display module is connected with the driving trace in Kim, as taught by Hu, in order to provide better display by reducing gap and improving seam continuity.
Regarding claim 2, Kim in view of Hu teaches the splicing display module according to claim 1, and Kim further teaches wherein the second display module (200b) is partially disposed on the second substrate (200b on 117 and/or 113 as shown in Fig. 11).
Regarding claim 8, Kim in view of Hu teaches the splicing display module according to claim 1, and Kim further teaches wherein a plurality of first transistors are disposed in the main body, a plurality of second transistors are disposed in the extension portion, the first transistor is disposed on the same layer with the second transistor (inside 111; see [0045-0047]: “…a thin film transistor (TFT)…”).
Regarding claim 9, Kim in view of Hu teaches the splicing display module according to claim 1, and Kim further teaches wherein the second display module is disposed to extend beyond the edge of the extension portion (as shown in Fig. 11).
Regarding claim 10, Kim in view of Hu teaches the splicing display module according to claim 1, and Kim further teaches wherein the second substrate (117 and/or 113) comprises a display area (AA, Figs. 10-12B) and a non-display area (IA, Figs. 10-12B), the non-display area is disposed to surround the display area (surround AA, can refer to Figs. 10-12B), the second display module covers the non-display area of one side of the second substrate close to the extension portion (see BA cover IA in Fig. 11), and the second display module partially covers the display area of one side of the second substrate close to the extension portion (as shown in Fig. 11).
Regarding claim 11, Kim in view of Hu teaches the splicing display module according to claim 10, and Kim further teaches wherein the first display module further comprises an upper polarizer (117, Fig. 11), the upper polarizer is disposed on the surface of the second substrate away from the first substrate (as shown in Fig. 11), the second display module covers an end of the upper polarizer close to the extension portion ( as shown in Fig. 11).
Regarding claim 12, Kim in view of Hu teaches the splicing display module according to claim 10, and Kim further teaches wherein an end of the upper polarizer close to the extension portion is disposed between the second substrate and the second display module (117 between 113 and 200b as shown in Fig. 11).
Regarding claim 13, Kim in view of Hu teaches the splicing display module according to claim 1, and the modified Kim further teaches wherein the splicing display module further comprises: a first driving circuit board (300, Fig. 11 of Kim), electrically connected with the main body, the first driving circuit board is configured to drive the main body ([0077]); and a second driving circuit board (250, Fig. 4 of Kim), electrically connected with the extension portion (as modified in above Hu in claim 1 with the driving trace), the second driving circuit board is configured to drive the second display module.
Regarding claim 14, Kim in view of Hu teaches the splicing display module according to claim 1, and Kim further teaches wherein in the thickness direction of the first display module, the main body overlaps with the second substrate (AA overlap 117 and/or 113), and the extension portion does not overlap with the second substrate (extension of 111 and/or 115 have extension portion not overlapping with 117 and/or 113 in Fig. 11).
Regarding claim 16, Kim in view of Hu teaches the splicing display module according to claim 1, and Kim further teaches wherein the first display module further comprises a lower polarizer (115, Fig. 11), the lower polarizer is disposed on the surface of the first substrate away from the second substrate (as shown in Fig. 11).
Regarding claim 17, Kim in view of Hu teaches the splicing display module according to claim 1, and Kim further teaches a display device (display device shown in Figs. 10, 12A and 12B), wherein the display device comprises the splicing display module according to claim 1.
Regarding claim 18, Kim in view of Hu teaches the display device according claim 17, and Kim further teaches wherein the splicing display module comprises the first display module (left 110 in Fig. 11) and the second display module (200b) spliced to each other, the second display module is partially disposed on the second substrate (200b on 117 and/or 113 as shown in Fig. 11).
Regarding claim 19, Kim in view of Hu teaches the display device according to claim 18, and Kim further teaches wherein the first display module comprises the first substrate (111 and/or 115, Fig. 11) and the second substrate (117 and/or 113, Fig. 11) disposed opposite to each other, the first substrate comprises the main body (main body under AA in Fig. 11) and the extension portion (extension portion under IA not overlapping 117 and 113 in Fig. 11), the main body and the second substrate are disposed opposite to each other, the extension portion is disposed to extend beyond the edge of the second substrate (as shown in Fig. 11), the driving trace (not explicit, but must have driving trace in extension portion to connect to PP; can refer PP in Fig. 1; [0077]: “… driving circuit 300 may be connected to the pad part PP…”) is disposed on the extension portion; the second display module is at least disposed on the extension portion (200b on IA as shown in Fig. 11) and is connected with the driving trace (as established in above claim 1 by Hu); a plurality of first transistors are disposed in the main body, a plurality of second transistors are disposed in the extension portion, the first transistor is disposed on the same layer with the second transistor (inside 111; see [0045-0047]: “…a thin film transistor (TFT)…”).
Regarding claim 20, Kim in view of Hu teaches the display device according to claim 18, and Kim further teaches wherein the first display module comprises the first substrate (111 and/or 115, Fig. 11) and the second substrate (117 and/or 113, Fig. 11) disposed opposite to each other, the first substrate comprises the main body (main body under AA in Fig. 11) and the extension portion (extension portion under IA not overlapping 117 and 113 in Fig. 11), the main body and the second substrate are disposed opposite to each other (as shown in Fig. 11), the extension portion is disposed to extend beyond the edge of the second substrate (as shown in Fig. 11), the driving trace (not explicit, but must have driving trace in extension portion to connect to PP; can refer PP in Fig. 1; [0077]: “… driving circuit 300 may be connected to the pad part PP…”) is disposed on the extension portion; the second display module is at least disposed on the extension portion (200b on IA as shown in Fig. 11) and is connected with the driving trace (as established in claim 1 by Hu); the second display module is disposed to extend beyond the edge of the extension portion (as shown in Fig. 11).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7 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.
Re claims 3-7, prior arts do not teach or suggest the combination of the splicing display module according to claim 3, in particular, wherein the second display module comprises a conductive substrate and a plurality of light-emitting components, the light- emitting component is disposed on the surface of the conductive substrate away from the first substrate, the conductive substrate comprises: a first sub-portion, disposed on the second substrate; a second sub-portion, disposed the extension portion; wherein, the surface of the first sub-portion away from the first substrate is flush with the surface of the second sub-portion away from the first substrate, the surface of the second sub- portion close to the first substrate protrudes from the surface of the first sub-portion close to the first substrate.
Conclusion
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/JAMES WU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2841
