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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities: two commas at line 3. Appropriate correction is required.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: Display device and a method for compensating for a defective pixel.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 3-4, 8-9 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Twu et al. (US 2025/0372011 A1, hereinafter “Twu”) in view of Huang et al. (US 2022/0366848 A1, hereinafter “Huang”).
As to claim 1, Twu discloses a display device (Fig. 1), comprising:
a substrate (Para. 0004; substate of display panel) including a display area (200) and a non-display area (100; around the display area) outside the display area;
a display panel (200) disposed on the substrate in the display area, the display panel including a plurality of sub-pixels (10; Para. 0049);
a data driving circuit (30) for driving the plurality of sub-pixels (Para. 0049); and
a redundancy cell (Fig. 3 element 104) disposed on the substrate, the redundancy cell for driving the plurality of sub-pixels (Fig. 4; Para. 0058),
wherein the plurality of sub-pixels includes a first sub-pixel (103Ra) including a first light-emitting device (LEDR) and a driving transistor (T2) for driving the first light-emitting device (LEDR), and
wherein the redundancy cell includes a first redundancy cell block (105) including a first switch (1051R) electrically connected to the first light-emitting device (LEDR), and a first redundancy sub-pixel (104) electrically connected to the first switch (1051R), the redundancy cell for driving the first light-emitting device (LEDR; Para. 0061-0062).
Twu does not disclose a redundancy cell disposed on the substrate in the non-display area.
However, Huang (Fig. 7) teaches a redundancy cell (12) disposed on the substrate in the non-display area (Q2; Para. 0058).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Huang to place the redundant pixel circuits in the non-display area in the device disclosed by Twu. The combination would have merely yielded predictable results of driving the pixel circuit by achieving more uniform display (Huang; Para. 0058).
As to claim 3, Twu (Fig. 4) discloses the display device according to claim 1, wherein when the first sub-pixel (103Ra) is a defective sub-pixel (Para. 0062), the first switch (1051R) electrically connects the first light-emitting device and the first redundancy sub-pixel (Para. 0062), and
the first redundancy sub-pixel supplies a driving current to the first light-emitting device of the defective sub-pixel (Para. 0062).
The above rejection also stands for the similar method of claim 19.
As to claim 4, Twu discloses the display device according to claim 3, wherein, when the first redundancy sub-pixel drives the first light-emitting device, the driving transistor does not supply a current for causing the first light-emitting device to emit light (Para. 0062).
As to claim 8, Twu (Fig. 2) discloses the display device according to claim 1, wherein the redundancy cell includes a plurality of redundancy cell blocks (104) including the first redundancy cell block (first redundant pixel driving circuit; Para. 0065) and a second redundancy cell block (second redundant pixel driving circuit; Para. 0065), and the plurality of sub-pixels further include a second sub-pixel (103G of second pixel),,
wherein the first redundancy cell block (104) is electrically connected to the first sub-pixel (103R), and
wherein the second redundancy cell block (104, second redundant pixel driving circuit; Para. 0065) is electrically connected to the second sub-pixel (103G of second pixel) and includes a second switch (Fig. 4 element 1051G) different from the first switch and a second redundancy sub-pixel different from the first redundancy sub-pixel (Para. 0065).
As to claim 9, Twu discloses the display device according to claim 8, wherein the number of redundancy cell blocks in the plurality of redundancy cell blocks is equal to or less than the number of sub-pixels in the plurality of sub-pixels (Para. 0063).
Claim(s) 2, 5-7, 10-11, 13-16, 18 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Twu and Huang as applied to claims 1 and 19 above, and further in view of Yu et al. (US 2023/0078752 A1, hereinafter “Yu”).
As to claim 2, Twu discloses the display device according to claim 1, wherein the first switch (Fig. 4 element 105) is electrically connected to the first redundancy sub-pixel (104) through a first connection line (“line connecting 104 and 105).
Twu does not disclose wherein the first redundancy sub-pixel includes:
a first redundancy transistor electrically connected to the first connection line and a first driving voltage line;
a second redundancy transistor electrically connected to a gate node of the first redundancy transistor and a data line;
a third redundancy transistor electrically connected between the first connection line and a sensing line; and
a redundancy capacitor electrically connected between the gate node of the first redundancy transistor and the first connection line.
However, Yu (Fig. 2) teaches wherein the first redundancy sub-pixel (SP) includes:
a first redundancy transistor (DRT) electrically connected to the first connection line and a first driving voltage line (DV1);
a second redundancy transistor (SWT1) electrically connected to a gate node of the first redundancy transistor (DRT) and a data line (DL);
a third redundancy transistor (SWT2) electrically connected between the first connection line and a sensing line (SL); and
a redundancy capacitor 9Cstg) electrically connected between the gate node of the first redundancy transistor (N1) and the first connection line (N2).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to simple substitute the OLED display panel of Yu for the LED display panel of Twu. The result of such a substitution would have merely yielded predictable results.
The above rejection also stands for the similar method of claim 20.
As to claim 5, Twu does not disclose the display device according to claim 4, wherein the first sub-pixel further includes:
a scan transistor electrically connected between a gate node of the driving transistor and a data line;
a sensing transistor electrically connected between the first light-emitting device and a sensing line; and
a storage capacitor electrically connected between the gate node of the driving transistor and the first light-emitting device.
However, Yu (Fig. 2) discloses wherein the first sub-pixel further includes:
a scan transistor (SWT1) electrically connected between a gate node of the driving transistor (DRT) and a data line (DL);
a sensing transistor (SWT2) electrically connected between the first light-emitting device (ED) and a sensing line (SL); and
a storage capacitor (Cstg) electrically connected between the gate node of the driving transistor (DRT) and the first light-emitting device (ED).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to simple substitute the OLED display panel of Yu for the LED display panel of Twu. The result of such a substitution would have merely yielded predictable results.
As to claim 6, Twu discloses the display device according to claim 5, wherein when the first redundancy sub-pixel supplies the driving current to the first light-emitting device, at least one of the scan transistor and the sensing transistor is in a turn-off state (Fig. 6, when SW6 is turned off).
As to claim 7, Twu discloses the display device according to claim 5, wherein the defective sub-pixel is a sub-pixel in which at least one of the driving transistor, the scan transistor, the sensing transistor, the first light-emitting device, and the storage capacitor is defective (Para. 0052).
As to claim 10, Twu does not disclose the display device according to claim 1, further comprising:
a read-out circuit disposed on the substrate, the read-out circuit receiving a current from the plurality of sub-pixels and sensing the current; and
a microprocessor disposed on the substrate and controlling the read-out circuit and the display panel.
However, Yu teaches further comprising:
a read-out circuit (Para. 0094) disposed on the substrate, the read-out circuit receiving a current from the plurality of sub-pixels and sensing the current (Fig. 2; para. 0093); and
a microprocessor (Fig. 1 element 140) disposed on the substrate and controlling the read-out circuit and the display panel (Para. 0096).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the to combine the teaching of Yu to include a sensing circuit in the device disclosed by Twu/Huang. The motivation would have been to detect the driving current of the pixel circuit (Yu; Para. 0092).
As to claim 11, Twu does not disclose the display device according to claim 10, wherein the substrate includes a silicon material,
wherein the microprocessor includes a first transistor formed on the substrate,
wherein the read-out circuit includes a second transistor formed on the substrate,
wherein the driving transistor is formed on the substrate, and
wherein the display device further comprises:
an insulating layer disposed on the substrate;
a first electrode electrically connected to the first transistor and disposed in the insulating layer;
a second electrode electrically connected to the second transistor and disposed in the insulating layer; and
a third electrode electrically connected to the driving transistor and disposed in the insulating layer.
However, Yu (Fig. 12) teaches wherein the substrate (SUB) includes a silicon material (Para. 0137),
wherein the microprocessor includes a first transistor (SWT1) formed on the substrate (SUB),
wherein the read-out circuit includes a second transistor (SWT2) formed on the substrate (Para. 0181, the pixel elements would be disposed on the substrate),
wherein the driving transistor (DRT) is formed on the substrate, and
wherein the display device further comprises:
an insulating layer (ILD1) disposed on the substrate (Para. 0181);
a first electrode (CE1) electrically connected to the first transistor (SWT1) and disposed in the insulating layer (Para. 0182);
a second electrode (CE2) electrically connected to the second transistor (SWT2) and disposed in the insulating layer (Para. 0169); and
a third electrode (N3) electrically connected to the driving transistor (DRT) and disposed in the insulating layer (Para. 0059).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to simple substitute the OLED display panel of Yu for the LED display panel of Twu. The result of such a substitution would have merely yielded predictable results.
As to claim 13, Twu does not disclose the display device according to claim 11, wherein the first sub-pixel further includes a first protection device electrically connected between the first light-emitting device and the driving transistor.
However, Yu (Fig. 3) teaches wherein the first sub-pixel further includes a first protection device (EF) electrically connected between the first light-emitting device (ED) and the driving transistor (DRT).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Yu to include an electrical fuse in the device disclosed by Twu/Huang. The motivation would have been to control the control flow to the light emitting element (Yu; Para. 0076).
As to claim 14, Twu in view of Huang and Yu disclose the display device according to claim 13, wherein, when the first sub-pixel is determined to be a defective sub-pixel, the first protection device electrically isolates the first light-emitting device from the driving transistor (Fig. 5; Para. 0108-0110).
As to claim 15, Twu in view of Huang and Yu disclose the display device according to claim 13. Yu further teaches wherein the first sub-pixel is driven in a first driving period for displaying an image (Fig. 3; Para. 0069, regular driving to display an image) and a second driving period for detecting whether the first sub-pixel is defective (Fig. 4; para. 0089).
As to claim 16, Twu in view of Huang and Yu disclose the display device according to claim 15. Yu further teaches wherein the second driving period includes:
a first period (Fig. 4) in which a test voltage is supplied to the first sub-pixel (Para. 0089);
a second period in which the read-out circuit receives a test current from the first sub-pixel (Para. 0095); and
a third period in which the first sub-pixel is determined to be defective through test data generated based on the test current (Para. 0097).
As to claim 18, Twu in view of Huang and Yu disclose the display device according to claim 11. Yu (Fig. 12) further teaches wherein each of the first electrode (CE1) to the third electrode (N3) includes a via electrode (Via3; Para. 0181).
Claim(s) 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Twu, Huang and Yu as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Kajimoto et al. (US 2024/0413279 A1, hereinafter “Kajimoto”).
As to claim 12, Twu in view of Huang and Yu disclose the display device according to claim 11. Yu teaches further comprising:
an anode (Fig. 2 element E1_R) electrically connected to the third electrode (N3 through DRT);
a light-emitting layer (EL) disposed on the anode (E1);
a cathode (E2) disposed on the light-emitting layer (EL).
Yu does not teach a color filter disposed on the cathode; and
a microlens disposed on and overlapping the color filter.
However, Kajimoto (Fig. 2A) teaches a color filter (120) disposed on the cathode (113; Para. 0040, 0042); and
a microlens (119) disposed on and overlapping the color filter (120; Para. 0037).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Kajimoto to include microlens and color filter in the device disclosed by Twu/Huang/Yu. The motivation would have been to lower the visibility of a color shift (Kajimoto; Para. 0004).
Claim(s) 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Twu, Huang and Yu as applied to claim 13 above, and further in view of Cho et al. (US 2023/0267885 A1, hereinafter “Cho”).
As to claim 17, Twu does not disclose the display device according to claim 13, wherein the first sub-pixel further includes:
a second light-emitting device driven by the driving transistor;
a second sensing transistor electrically connected between the second light-emitting device and a sensing line; and
a second protection device electrically connected between the second light-emitting device and the driving transistor, and
wherein the first redundancy cell block further includes a second switch electrically connected between the first redundancy sub-pixel and the second light-emitting device.
However, Cho (Fig. 5) teaches wherein the first sub-pixel further includes:
a second light-emitting device (SEM2) driven by the driving transistor (T1);
a second sensing transistor (T4) electrically connected between the second light-emitting device (SEM2) and a sensing line (SSL2k); and
a second protection device electrically connected between the second light-emitting device and the driving transistor (as discussed in claim 13 above Yu teaches a protection device), and
wherein the first redundancy cell block further includes a second switch electrically connected between the first redundancy sub-pixel and the second light-emitting device (as discussed above in claim 1 Twu discloses a redundancy pixel circuit and the switches).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Cho to include a plurality of light emitting device in the pixel of Twu/Huang/Yu. The motivation would have been to improve the luminance uniformity of the pixel unit (Cho; Para. 0115).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant‘s disclosure.
An (US 10,580,351 B2) discloses a redundant LED in a pixel (Fig. 2 element 142).
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BIPIN GYAWALI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2625
/BIPIN GYAWALI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2625
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