DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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 .
Drawings
Figure 1 should be designated by a legend such as --Prior Art-- because only that which is old is illustrated as evidence at least at Paragraph [0039] of the Specification. See MPEP § 608.02(g). Corrected drawings in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. The replacement sheet(s) should be labeled “Replacement Sheet” in the page header (as per 37 CFR 1.84(c)) so as not to obstruct any portion of the drawing figures. 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.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
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Claims 1 – 12 and 14 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over Claims 5 - 16 of U.S. Patent No. 12,554,366. Although the claims at issue are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because claims of U.S. 12,554,366 anticipate claims of the instant application as shown specifically below.
Regarding Claim 1 of the instant application, Claim 5 of US 12,554,366 discloses “A touch display panel, comprising a display area and a peripheral area located outside the display area, wherein part of the peripheral area protrudes in a direction away from the display area to form at least one lead-out area, and the lead-out area has a bonding part, the touch display panel comprises: a display substrate; a touch layer, provided on a side of the display substrate and comprising at least two touch islands arranged in an array, wherein there is a gap between two adjacent touch islands, each touch island comprises at least two touch electrodes, and the touch electrodes comprise at least two sensing electrodes for outputting sensing signals; and switching circuits, at least partially provided in the peripheral area, wherein one of the touch islands is connected to the bonding part through one of the switching circuits, and the switching circuits are at least used for switching on or off the sensing electrodes and the bonding part, wherein in one of the touch islands, the touch electrodes comprise at least two first touch electrodes, wherein the first touch electrodes extend in a column direction and are arranged at intervals along a row direction; one of the first touch electrodes comprises at least two first electrode blocks arranged at intervals along the column direction and transfer bridges connecting two adjacent first electrode blocks; and the gap cuts off part of a first electrode block and extends along a curved or polyline trajectory” (Claim 1, Column 22, Lines 16 – 45), “wherein each of the switching circuits comprises at least two touch leads and a switching element, any of the touch electrodes being bonded to the bonding part through one of the touch leads” (Claim 2, Column 23, Lines 1 – 5), “wherein the switching element is a switching transistor, a first terminal and a second terminal of the switching transistor being connected to one of the touch leads, and a gate of the switching transistor being used for receiving a control signal” (Claim 3, Column 23, Lines 11 – 16), “wherein each of the switching circuits further comprises a switching scan line” (Claim 4, Column 23, Lines 17 – 19), “and wherein the touch display panel comprises: a switching active layer, provided in the display substrate, and comprising a channel region and the first terminal and the second terminal on both sides of the channel region; a first insulation layer covering the switching active layer; a switching gate, provided on a surface of the first insulation layer away from the switching active layer and overlapping with the switching active layer to form the switching transistor, the switching gate being connected with the switching scan line; and a second insulation layer covering the switching gate, wherein the touch lead is located on a side of the second insulation layer away from the switching active layer, and comprises two lead segments arranged at intervals along the column direction, wherein one of the lead segments is connected to the touch electrode and the first terminal, and the other of the lead segments is connected to the second terminal and the bonding part” (Claim 5, Column 23, Lines 25 – 46).
Regarding Claim 2 of the instant application, Claim 5 of US 12,554,366 discloses everything claimed as applied above (See above). In addition, Claim 5 of US 12,554,366 discloses “wherein one of the touch leads connected to one of the sensing electrodes is provided with the switching element, the switching element being used for switching on or off one of the touch leads connected to the switching element in response to the control signal” (Claim 2, Column 23, Lines 6 – 10).
Regarding Claim 3 of the instant application, Claim 5 of US 12,554,366 discloses everything claimed as applied above (See above). In addition, Claim 5 of US 12,554,366 discloses “in each of the switching circuits, the switching scan line is connected in series with the gate of the switching transistor, and is further connected with the bonding part, for transmitting the control signal” (Claim 4, Column 23, Lines 21 – 24).
Regarding Claim 4 of the instant application, Claim 6 of US 12,554,366 discloses everything claimed as applied above (See above). In addition, Claim 6 of US 12,554,366 discloses “wherein the switching active layer extends along the row direction, and the first terminal and the second terminal are arranged on both sides of the channel region along the column direction, and the second terminal is located between the channel region and the bonding part; and the switching scan line and the switching gate form an integral structure, extend along the row direction, and overlap with the channel region of the switching active layer” (Claim 6, Column 23, Lines 47 – 56).
Regarding Claim 5 of the instant application, Claim 7 of US 12,554,366 discloses everything claimed as applied above (See above). In addition, Claim 7 of US 12,554,366 discloses “wherein the touch display panel further comprises: a first conductive layer, provided on a surface of the second insulation layer away from the switching active layer, and comprises a first conductive part and a second conductive part arranged at intervals along the column direction, wherein the first conductive part overlaps and is connected through a first contact hole with the first terminal, and the second conductive part overlaps and is connected through a second contact hole with the second terminal; a third insulation layer covering the first conductive layer; a second conductive layer, provided on a surface of the third insulation layer away from the switching active layer, and comprising a third conductive part and a fourth conductive part arranged at intervals along the column direction, wherein the third conductive part overlaps and is connected with the first conductive part, and the fourth conductive part overlaps and is connected with the second conductive part; and a fourth insulation layer covering the second conductive layer, wherein the touch lead is located on a side of the fourth insulation layer away from the switching active layer, the lead segment connecting the touch electrode is connected with the third conductive part, and the lead segment connecting the bonding part is connected with the fourth conductive part” (Claim 7, Column 23, Line 57 through Column 24, Line 17).
Regarding Claim 6 of the instant application, Claim 8 of US 12,554,366 discloses everything claimed as applied above (See above). In addition, Claim 8 of US 12,554,366 discloses “wherein the first conductive part comprises a first connection part and a second connection part connected along the column direction, wherein the first connection part extends along the row direction, the first connection part overlaps and is connected through the first contact hole with the first terminal, the second connection part is connected to a side of the first connection part away from the second conductive part, the second connection part extends along the column direction, and the second connection part is connected to the third conductive part; and the second conductive part comprises a third connection part and a fourth connection part connected along the column direction, the third connection part extends along the row direction, the third connection part overlaps and is connected through the second contact hole with the second terminal, the fourth connection part is connected to a side of the third connection part away from the first conductive part and extends along the column direction, and the fourth connection part is connected to the fourth conductive part” (Claim 8, Column 24, Lines 18 – 39).
Regarding Claim 7 of the instant application, Claim 9 of US 12,554,366 discloses everything claimed as applied above (See above). In addition, Claim 9 of US 12,554,366 discloses “the first connection part is connected to the first terminal through at least two first contact holes arranged at intervals along the row direction, and the second connection part is connected to the second terminal through at least two second contact holes arranged at intervals along the row direction” (Claim 9, Column 24, Lines 42 – 48).
Regarding Claim 8 of the instant application, Claim 10 of US 12,554,366 discloses everything claimed as applied above (See above). In addition, Claim 10 of US 12,554,366 discloses “a length of the switching active layer in the row direction is greater than widths of the touch lead, the second connection part, the fourth connection part, the third conductive part, and the fourth conductive part in the row direction” (Claim 10, Column 24, Lines 49 – 54).
Regarding Claim 9 of the instant application, Claim 11 of US 12,554,366 discloses everything claimed as applied above (See above). In addition, Claim 11 of US 12,554,366 discloses “the switching active layer comprises at least two active portions arranged at intervals along the row direction, and each of the active portions overlaps with the switching scan line and is connected to the first conductive part and the second conductive part” (Claim 11, Column 24, Lines 56 – 61).
Regarding Claim 10 of the instant application, Claim 12 of US 12,554,366 discloses everything claimed as applied above (See above). In addition, Claim 12 of US 12,554,366 discloses “the display substrate comprises a driving backplane, a light-emitting layer, and an encapsulation layer stacked in sequence, the touch layer being located on a side of the encapsulation layer away from the driving backplane; and the driving backplane comprises: a substrate; a semiconductor layer, provided on a side of the substrate, the switching active layer being located on the semiconductor layer; a first gate insulation layer covering the semiconductor layer, the first insulation layer being located on the gate insulation layer; a first gate layer, provided on a surface of the gate insulation layer away from the substrate, the switching gate being located on the first gate layer; a second gate insulation layer covering the first gate layer; a second gate layer, provided on a surface of the second gate insulation layer away from the substrate; an interlayer dielectric layer covering the second gate layer, the second insulation layer comprising part of the gate insulation layer and part of the interlayer dielectric layer; a first source and drain layer, provided on a surface of the interlayer dielectric layer away from the substrate, the first conductive layer being located on the first source and drain layer; a first planarization layer covering the first source and drain layer, the third insulation layer being located on the first planarization layer; a second source and drain layer, provided on a surface of the first planarization layer away from the substrate, the second conductive layer being located on the second source and drain layer; a second planarization layer covering the second source and drain layer, wherein the light-emitting layer is provided on a surface of the second planarization layer away from the substrate, and both the light-emitting layer and the encapsulation layer expose the lead-out area; and a touch buffer layer covering an area where the light-emitting layer and the second planarization layer are located in the lead-out area, wherein the touch layer is provided on a surface of the touch buffer layer away from the substrate, and the fourth insulation layer comprises part of the second planarization layer and part of the touch buffer layer” (Claim 12, Column 24 Lines 62 through Column 25, Line 42).
Regarding Claim 11 of the instant application, Claim 13 of US 12,554,366 discloses everything claimed as applied above (See above). In addition, Claim 13 of US 12,554,366 discloses “wherein the bonding part comprises at least two pads, one of the touch leads is connected to one of the pads, and the switching scan line is connected to one of the pads” (Claim 13, Column 25, Lines 43 – 46).
Regarding Claim 12 of the instant application, Claim 5 of US 12,554,366 discloses everything claimed as applied above (See above). In addition, Claim 5 of US 12,554,366 discloses “wherein in the one of the touch islands: the touch electrodes further comprise at least two second touch electrodes, the second touch electrodes extend along the row direction and are arranged at intervals along the column direction, and any of the first touch electrodes intersects with, but is insulated from, each of the second touch electrodes; and each of the first touch electrodes is a driving electrode for receiving a driving signal, and each of the second touch electrodes is one of the sensing electrodes” (Claim 1, Column 22, Lines 46 – 55).
Regarding Claim 14 of the instant application, Claim 5 of US 12,554,366 discloses everything claimed as applied above (See above). In addition, Claim 5 of US 12,554,366 discloses “wherein one of the second touch electrodes comprises at least two second electrode blocks connected in series along the row direction; one of the transfer bridges intersects with one of the second touch electrodes; and the touch layer comprises: a transfer layer, provided on a side of the display substrate and comprising the transfer bridges; an isolation layer covering the transfer layer; and an electrode layer, provided on a surface of the isolation layer away from the display substrate, and comprising the first electrode block and a second electrode block” (Claim 1, Column 22, Lines 56 – 67).
Claims 18 – 20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being obvious over Claim 5 of US 12,554,366 in view of Church et al. (United States Patent Application Publication US2018/0224965 A1, cited in parent application 18/289,991 and listed on the IDS filed December 04, 2025) hereinafter referenced as Church.
Regarding Claim 18 of the instant application, Claim 5 of US 12,554,366 discloses “A display device, comprising a touch display panel [ ] wherein the touch display panel comprises a display area and a peripheral area located outside the display area, wherein part of the peripheral area protrudes in a direction away from the display area to form at least one lead-out area, and the lead-out area has a bonding part, the touch display panel comprises: a display substrate; a touch layer, provided on a side of the display substrate and comprising at least two touch islands arranged in an array, wherein there is a gap between two adjacent touch islands, each touch island comprises at least two touch electrodes, and the touch electrodes comprise at least two sensing electrodes for outputting sensing signals; and switching circuits, at least partially provided in the peripheral area, wherein one of the touch islands is connected to the bonding part through one of the switching circuits, and the switching circuits are at least used for switching on or off the sensing electrodes and the bonding part, wherein in one of the touch islands, the touch electrodes comprise at least two first touch electrodes, wherein the first touch electrodes extend in a column direction and are arranged at intervals along a row direction; one of the first touch electrodes comprises at least two first electrode blocks arranged at intervals along the column direction and transfer bridges connecting two adjacent first electrode blocks; and the gap cuts off part of a first electrode block and extends along a curved or polyline trajectory” (Claim 1, Column 22, Lines 16 – 45), “wherein each of the switching circuits comprises at least two touch leads and a switching element, any of the touch electrodes being bonded to the bonding part through one of the touch leads” (Claim 2, Column 23, Lines 1 – 5), “wherein the switching element is a switching transistor, a first terminal and a second terminal of the switching transistor being connected to one of the touch leads, and a gate of the switching transistor being used for receiving a control signal” (Claim 3, Column 23, Lines 11 – 16), “wherein each of the switching circuits further comprises a switching scan line” (Claim 4, Column 23, Lines 17 – 19), “and wherein the touch display panel comprises: a switching active layer, provided in the display substrate, and comprising a channel region and the first terminal and the second terminal on both sides of the channel region; a first insulation layer covering the switching active layer; a switching gate, provided on a surface of the first insulation layer away from the switching active layer and overlapping with the switching active layer to form the switching transistor, the switching gate being connected with the switching scan line; and a second insulation layer covering the switching gate, wherein the touch lead is located on a side of the second insulation layer away from the switching active layer, and comprises two lead segments arranged at intervals along the column direction, wherein one of the lead segments is connected to the touch electrode and the first terminal, and the other of the lead segments is connected to the second terminal and the bonding part” (Claim 5, Column 23, Lines 25 – 46). However, Claim 5 fails to explicitly disclose “a flexible circuit board, connected to a bonding part; and a touch chip, connected to the flexible circuit board”.
In a similar field of endeavor, Church teaches a flexible printer circuit (FPC) connected to bonding connection pads 16 and connected to a touch-sensor controller 12 via mounting to said FPC (Paragraph [0085], Lines 1 – 11), where the touch-sensor controller is a chip or integrated circuit (Paragraph [0070], Lines 1 – 4).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide “a flexible circuit board, connected to the bonding part; and a touch chip, connected to the flexible circuit board” because one having ordinary skill in the art would want to couple a touch sensor controller to a touch sensor (Paragraph [0085], Lines 9 – 11 (with regard to providing a flexible circuit board connected to a bonding part and touch chip)) and because one having ordinary skill in the art would want to detect a touch (Paragraph [0070], Lines 4 – 5 (with regard to providing a touch chip)).
Regarding Claim 19 of the instant application, Claim 5 of US 12,554,366 and Church discloses/teach everything claimed as applied above (See above). In addition, Claim 5 of US 12,554,366 discloses “wherein one of the touch leads connected to one of the sensing electrodes is provided with the switching element, the switching element being used for switching on or off one of the touch leads connected to the switching element in response to the control signal” (Claim 2, Column 23, Lines 6 – 10).
Regarding Claim 20 of the instant application, Claim 5 of US 12,554,366 and Church disclose/ teach everything claimed as applied above (See above). In addition, Claim 5 of US 12,554,366 discloses “in each of the switching circuits, the switching scan line is connected in series with the gate of the switching transistor, and is further connected with the bonding part, for transmitting the control signal” (Claim 4, Column 23, Lines 21 – 24).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 17 is allowable over the prior art of record for reasoning reflected in the history of prosecution of parent application 18/289,991.
Also, Claims 13 and 15 – 16 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 for reasoning reflected in the history of prosecution of parent application 18/289,991.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRIAN M BUTCHER whose telephone number is (571)270-5575. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday – Friday from 6:30 AM to 3:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Ke Xiao, can be reached at (571) 272 - 7776. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRIAN M BUTCHER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2627 July 11, 2026
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