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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on October 21, 2025 has been entered.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1, 5-7, and 10-20 are pending in the application.
Claims 17-19 were withdrawn without traverse in the reply filed on February 14, 2025.
The Examiner notes that claims 1, 5-7, 10-16, and 20 are examined and claims 17-19 are withdrawn.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority to Chinese Application No. CN202110145955.6, filed on February 2, 2021.
Response to Amendment
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s Amendment filed October 21, 2025. Claims 1 and 20 are amended. Claims 8-9 are cancelled. Claims 17-19 remain withdrawn. The Examiner notes that claims 1, 5-7, 10-16, and 20 are examined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
Claims 1, 6-7, 10-11 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Jiang (US 2021/0359235 A1) and Kang (US 2020/0083475 A1).
With respect to claim 1, Jiang teaches in Fig. 10:
A flexible display panel (para. 1 “display panel”), comprising:
a flexible substrate (flexible substrate 13 and planarization layer 14) comprising a first surface (top) and a second (bottom) surface opposite to each other and a through hole (through hole 21) that penetrates the flexible substrate in a direction from the first surface to the second surface;
an organic coating layer (portion of organic light emitting structural layer to the right of barrier 171) disposed on a hole wall (side wall of 21) of the through hole (21);
and a thin film transistor layer (transistor of the TFT array structural layer 15), a pixel unit (pixel defined by pixel defining layer 16), and a thin film encapsulation layer (encapsulating structural layer 19 including 192 and/or one or both layers of 191) that are stacked on the first surface (top of 13),
wherein orthographic projections of the thin film transistor layer (projection of 15 on the bottom of 13) and the pixel unit (projection of 16 onto bottom of 13) on the second surface are disposed at a side of an orthographic projection of the through hole (21) on the second surface (plane that includes bottom of 13), and the thin film encapsulation (192 and/or one or both layers of 191) layer extends along a side of the organic coating layer (portion of 18 to the right of barrier structure) distal from the hole wall (sidewalls of 21).
wherein the hole wall (sidewall of 21) is coated with the organic coating layer (portion of 18 extends along the sidewall),
the through hole comprises a hole bottom proximal to the second surface (bottom of the hole is next to the bottom surface of 13),
and the hole wall comprises a bottom corner disposed at the hole bottom (see annotated Fig. 10);
wherein the through hole is acquired by etching the flexible substrate (para. 15 “the through hole is defined in the TFT array structural layer by etching.”),
and the organic coating layer (portion of 18 to right of 171) extends from the hole wall and reaches the bottom corner (see annotated Fig. 10), and covers a part of the hole bottom from the bottom corner (Fig. 10).
wherein the flexible substrate comprises an organic isolation layer (portion of 18 over barriers 171) and a barrier layer (first barrier 171, the reference is silent to whether it is organic or inorganic) that are stacked on the first surface (top of 13),
wherein the organic isolation layer and the barrier layer surround the through hole and are provided with an isolation groove (portion between two parts of barrier 171) (para. 7 “The display panel further includes a barrier disposed on the TFT array structural layer and disposed around the through hole.”),
an opening direction of the isolation groove being a direction from the second surface to the first surface and the isolation groove extending around a periphery of the through hole (groove opens up, groove is disposed around the through hole per para. 7),
wherein in a direction opposite to the opening direction, an area of an orthographic projection of the barrier layer on a bottom of the isolation groove is greater than or equal to an area of an orthographic projection of the organic isolation layer on the bottom of the isolation groove (the portion of 18 on top of 171 and the top surface of 171 cover the same area in an orthographic projection. Note that the portion of 18 between the two parts of 171 is not included in the “organic isolation layer” as defined above).
Jiang fails to teach:
wherein the flexible substrate is provided with a first shielding structure protruding towards an inside of the through hole relative to the hole wall;
the first shielding structure is formed by side etching of the through hole,
and in the direction from the first surface to the second surface, an orthographic projection of a first end of the organic coating layer distal from the first surface on the second surface is disposed at a side, proximal to the center of the hole bottom, of an orthographic projection of a second end of the first shielding structure distal from the hole wall on the second surface, or
and in the direction from the first surface to the second surface, an orthographic projection of a first end of the organic coating layer distal from the first surface on the second surface is overlapped with an orthographic projection of a second end of the first shielding structure distal from the hole wall on the second surface.
an inorganic isolation layer (the Examiner notes that the material of the barrier layer analogous to the inorganic isolation layer of the instant application is not specified).
Kang teaches in Fig. 11:
wherein the flexible substrate (substrate 110 which may be flexible and insulating layer 250) is provided with a first shielding structure (buffer layer 201) protruding towards an inside of the through hole (opening 10H) relative to the hole wall (left side of hole wall);
the first shielding structure is formed by side etching of the through hole (para. 138, “a portion of the multi-layer ML corresponding to the opening area OA is removed during an etching process of forming the first and second grooves G1 and G2”),
and in the direction from the first surface (top) to the second surface (bottom), an orthographic projection of a first end of the organic coating (portion of emission layer 222 indicated in annotated Fig. 11 below, which may contain molecular organic material) layer distal from the first surface on the second surface is overlapped with an orthographic projection of a second end of the first shielding structure distal from the hole wall on the second surface
an inorganic isolation layer (portions of 205 and 207 on either side of groove G2)
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It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Kang into the device of Jiang to include a shielding structure and the claimed orthographic projections as described above. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Park in the manner set forth above for the preventing infiltration of impurities into a semiconductor layer (para. 103 of Kang).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to look to analogous art teaching(s) of alternative suitable or useful material such as the inorganic materials of the barrier of Kang, as the selection of a known material based on its suitability for intended purpose deemed obvious. See MPEP 2144.07.
With respect to claim 6, Jiang further teaches:
wherein the thin film encapsulation layer (19) comprises a first inorganic encapsulation layer,
an organic encapsulation layer,
and a second inorganic encapsulation layer that are stacked,
wherein the first inorganic encapsulation layer and the second inorganic encapsulation layer are disposed at two sides of the organic encapsulation layer (para. 97 “the encapsulating structural layer 19 includes two non-organic encapsulating layers 191 and an organic encapsulating layer 192 disposed between the two encapsulating layers 191”)
and the organic encapsulation layer is hermetically coated with the first inorganic encapsulation layer and the second inorganic encapsulation layer
Although Jiang does not specifically state that the encapsulation layer is “hermetically coated” it would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that the purpose of encapsulation of a semiconductor device is to protect the device from environmental damage, such as damage from air or water. The Examiner notes that “hermetically” is defined to mean “in an airtight manner” and takes the position that it would be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that an encapsulation layer involves hermetically coating surrounding layers.
With respect to claim 7, Jiang further teaches:
wherein the thin film encapsulation layer (19) comprises an inorganic encapsulation layer and an organic encapsulation layer that are stacked (para. 97, “the encapsulating structural layer 19 includes two non-organic encapsulating layers 191 and an organic encapsulating layer 192 disposed between the two encapsulating layers 191.”)
wherein an outer side of the pixel unit (portion defined by pixel defining layer 16) and the hole wall (side wall of 21) is hermetically coated with the inorganic encapsulation layer (191 extends along the sidewall and hermetically seals 132 and all layers above it),
and a side of the inorganic encapsulation (inner layer of 191) layer distal from the flexible substrate is coated with the organic encapsulation layer (coated on the inside with portion of 18 past the barriers).
With respect to claim 10, Jiang further teaches:
comprising a planarization layer (top layer of TFT layer 15, the interlayer dielectric layer) and a pixel definition layer (pixel definition layer 16) that are stacked on the thin film transistor layer (active layer, gate, and S/D layer of 15), wherein the planarization layer is provided with a first opening (opening that connects S/D to anode), and the pixel definition layer is provided with a second opening (opening between two portions of 16);
the pixel unit comprises a first electrode (anode as described in para. 85) and a second electrode (cathode as described in para. 95), and an organic light-emitting layer (portion of 18 between anode and cathode, see Fig. 7) disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode (anode and cathode), wherein the first electrode (anode) is disposed on the planarization layer (top layer of 15), is opposite to the second opening, and is connected to the thin film transistor layer through the first opening (connected to S/D through opening in the top layer of 15); and the organic light-emitting layer and the second electrode are disposed at the second opening.
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With respect to claim 11, Jiang further teaches:
wherein the first electrode is an anode (para. 85), the second electrode is a cathode (para. 95),
the organic light-emitting layer (18) and the cathode (see annotated Fig. 7) are disconnected at a side wall of the isolation groove (see Fig. 7, 18 is discontinuous before the barrier), and the thin film encapsulation layer is contiguous in the isolation groove (191 covers the groove between barriers 171).
With respect to claim 20, Jiang teaches in Fig. 10:
A display device, comprising a flexible display panel (para. 1 “display panel”), wherein the flexible display panel comprises:
a flexible substrate (flexible substrate 13 and planarization layer 14) comprising a first surface (top) and a second (bottom) surface opposite to each other and a through hole (through hole 21) that penetrates the flexible substrate in a direction from the first surface to the second surface;
an organic coating layer (portion of organic light emitting structural layer to the right of barrier 171) disposed on a hole wall (side wall of 21) of the through hole (21);
and a thin film transistor layer (transistor of the TFT array structural layer 15), a pixel unit (pixel defined by pixel defining layer 16), and a thin film encapsulation layer (encapsulating structural layer 19 including 192 and/or one or both layers of 191) that are stacked on the first surface (top of 13),
wherein orthographic projections of the thin film transistor layer (projection of 15 on the bottom of 13) and the pixel unit (projection of 16 onto bottom of 13) on the second surface are disposed at a side of an orthographic projection of the through hole (21) on the second surface (plane that includes bottom of 13), and the thin film encapsulation (192 and/or one or both layers of 191) layer extends along a side of the organic coating layer (portion of 18 to the right of barrier structure) distal from the hole wall (sidewalls of 21).
wherein the hole wall (sidewall of 21) is coated with the organic coating layer (portion of 18 extends along the sidewall),
the through hole comprises a hole bottom proximal to the second surface (bottom of the hole is next to the bottom surface of 13),
and the hole wall comprises a bottom corner disposed at the hole bottom (see annotated Fig. 10);
and the organic coating layer (portion of 18 to right of 171) extends from the hole wall and reaches the bottom corner (see annotated Fig. 10), and covers a part of the hole bottom from the bottom corner (Fig. 10).
wherein the flexible substrate comprises an organic isolation layer (portion of 18 over barriers 171) and a barrier layer (first barrier 171, the reference is silent to whether it is organic or inorganic) that are stacked on the first surface (top of 13),
wherein the organic isolation layer and the barrier layer surround the through hole and are provided with an isolation groove (portion between two parts of barrier 171) (para. 7 “The display panel further includes a barrier disposed on the TFT array structural layer and disposed around the through hole.”),
an opening direction of the isolation groove being a direction from the second surface to the first surface and the isolation groove extending around a periphery of the through hole (groove opens up, groove is disposed around the through hole per para. 7),
wherein in a direction opposite to the opening direction, an area of an orthographic projection of the barrier layer on a bottom of the isolation groove is greater than or equal to an area of an orthographic projection of the organic isolation layer on the bottom of the isolation groove (the portion of 18 on top of 171 and the top surface of 171 cover the same area in an orthographic projection. Note that the portion of 18 between the two parts of 171 is not included in the “organic isolation layer” as defined above).
Jiang fails to teach:
wherein the flexible substrate is provided with a first shielding structure protruding towards an inside of the through hole relative to the hole wall;
and in the direction from the first surface to the second surface, an orthographic projection of a first end of the organic coating layer distal from the first surface on the second surface is disposed at a side, proximal to the center of the hole bottom, of an orthographic projection of a second end of the first shielding structure distal from the hole wall on the second surface, or
and in the direction from the first surface to the second surface, an orthographic projection of a first end of the organic coating layer distal from the first surface on the second surface is overlapped with an orthographic projection of a second end of the first shielding structure distal from the hole wall on the second surface.
an inorganic isolation layer (the Examiner notes that the material of the barrier layer analogous to the inorganic isolation layer of the instant application is not specified)
Kang teaches in Fig. 11:
wherein the flexible substrate (substrate 110 which may be flexible and insulating layer 250) is provided with a first shielding structure (buffer layer 201) protruding towards an inside of the through hole (opening 10H) relative to the hole wall (left side of hole wall);
and in the direction from the first surface (top) to the second surface (bottom), an orthographic projection of a first end of the organic coating (portion of emission layer 222 indicated in annotated Fig. 11 below, which may contain molecular organic material) layer distal from the first surface on the second surface is overlapped with an orthographic projection of a second end of the first shielding structure distal from the hole wall on the second surface
an inorganic isolation layer (portions of 205 and 207 on either side of groove G2)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Kang into the device of Jiang to include a shielding structure and the claimed orthographic projections as described above. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Park in the manner set forth above for the preventing infiltration of impurities into a semiconductor layer (para. 103 of Kang).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to look to analogous art teaching(s) of alternative suitable or useful material such as the inorganic materials of the barrier of Kang, as the selection of a known material based on its suitability for intended purpose deemed obvious. See MPEP 2144.07.
Claims 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Jiang (US 2021/0359235 A1) and Kang (US 2020/0083475 A1) as applied to claims 1 above and further in view of Fujita (US 2012/0138976 A1).
With respect to claim 5, Jiang/Kang fails to teaches an organic coating layer that is made from a discontinuous part of the organic light-emitting structural layer but does not specify the material of the light-emitting structural layer and therefore does not teach:
wherein the organic coating layer comprises a resin-based organic material
Fujita teaches:
wherein the organic coating layer (para. 42, “the hole transporting light-emitting layer 5 may be obtained by dispersing the hole transporting material in a polymeric material such as a binder resin,” para 43 “the electron transporting light-emitting layer 6 may be obtained by dispersing the electron transporting material in a polymeric material such as a binder resin”)
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to look to analogous art teaching(s) of alternative suitable or useful material such as an organic resin to use to make the light emitting layer as taught by Fujita which serves as an organic coating layer in Jiang, as the selection of a known material based on its suitability for intended purpose deemed obvious. See MPEP 2144.07.
Claims 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Jiang (US 2021/0359235 A1) and Kang (US 2020/0083475 A1) as applied to claims 10 above and further in view of Kim (US 2022/0181583 A1).
With respect to claim 12, Jiang/Kang fails to teach:
Kim teaches in Fig. 7:
wherein the organic isolation layer (second layers 512 and 522) and the planarization layer or the pixel definition layer (second organic insulating layer 124) are film layers disposed in a same layer and made from a same material (para. 91 “The second layers 512 and 522 may be substantially simultaneously (or concurrently) provided or formed with the second organic insulating layer 124.”).
Jiang/Kang discloses the claimed invention except for the organic isolation layer and planarization layer are not made from the same layer and same material. Kim discloses that it is known in the art to provide a pixel definition layer and isolation layer made from the same material in the same layer. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the device of Jiang/Kang with the planarization layer and isolation layer made of the same material of Kim, in order to simplify the manufacture process by allowing them to be deposited in the same step. See MPEP 2144.
Claims 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Jiang (US 2021/0359235 A1) and Kang (US 2020/0083475 A1) as applied to claims 10 above further in view of Zhang (CN 110164916 A), hereinafter referred to as Zhang-1.
With respect to claim 13, Jiang/Kang teaches all limitations of claim 10 upon which claim 13 depends. Jiang/Kang fails to teach:
wherein the pixel definition layer is provided with a support column.
Zhang-1 teaches in Fig. 5:
wherein the pixel definition layer is provided with a support column (para. 45, “support column 134 is located on the non-opening area of the pixel definition layer 133.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Zhang-1 into the device of Jiang/Kang to provide the pixel definition layer with a support column. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Jiang/Kang in the manner set forth above for the purpose of “supporting the mask when forming the layer structure” (para. 45 of Zhang-1).
Claims 14-16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over by Jiang (US 2021/0359235 A1) and Kang (US 2020/0083475 A1) as applied to claims 1 above further in view of Zhang (CN 109755256 A), hereinafter referred to as Zhang-2.
With respect to claim 14, Jiang further teaches:
the organic coating layer (discontinuous portion of 18 that covers the hole wall) comprises a first sub-coating layer and a second sub-coating layer (two of the layers described in para. 95 “the organic light-emitting structural layer 18 includes a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a red light-emitting layer, a green light-emitting layer, a blue light-emitting layer, a hole blocking layer, an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer”)
Jiang teaches a substrate made up of a first and second substrate and planarization layer 14 but does not specify whether the substrate layers are organic or inorganic. Therefore, Jiang/Kang fails to teach:
wherein the flexible substrate comprises a first organic substrate, a first inorganic substrate, and a second organic substrate that are stacked;
wherein the first sub-coating layer covers a part of the hole wall corresponding to the first organic substrate, and the second sub-coating layer covers a part of the hole wall corresponding to the second organic substrate.
Zhang-2 teaches in Fig. 3:
wherein the flexible substrate comprises a first organic substrate (organic layer 6), a first inorganic (inorganic layer 5) substrate, and a second organic substrate (organic layer 4) that are stacked (para. 64 “The flexible substrate may be a three-layer structure with an inorganic layer 5 sandwiched between organic layers 4 and 6”);
Jiang/Kang modified by Zhang-2 to include a stack of a first organic substrate, first inorganic substrate, and second organic substrate in place of the first and second substrates 131 and 132 and planarization layer 14 teaches:
wherein the first sub-coating layer (one of the layers of the multilayer 18) covers a part of the hole wall (wall of 21) corresponding to the first organic substrate (18 covers the top of 131 which makes up part of the hole wall, 131 is analogous to the first organic substrate of Zhang-2), and the second sub-coating layer (another of the layers of the multilayer 18) covers a part of the hole wall corresponding to the second organic substrate (18 covers the right side of 132 which is analogous to the inorganic substrate of Zhang-2)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the teachings of Zhang-2 into the device of Jiang/Kang to include a three-layered substrate in which the sub-coating layers cover the sublayers of the substrate. The ordinary artisan would have been motivated to modify Jiang/Kang in the manner set forth above for the purpose providing a flexible substrate that allows the device to survive tensile stress (para 5 of Zhang-2).
With respect to claim 15, Jiang/Kang/Zhang-2 further teaches:
wherein an orthographic projection of the first inorganic substrate (inorganic layer 5 of Zhang-2 used as 131 in Jiang) on the second surface (bottom of substrate) is overlapped with an orthographic projection of the first sub-coating layer (one of the layers of multilayer 18) on the second surface (18 overlaps 131) and an orthographic projection of the second sub-coating layer (another layer of the multilayer 18) on the second surface.
With respect to claim 16, Jiang/Kang/Zhang-2 further teaches:
further comprising an inorganic insulation film layer (bottom layer of 191) and a planarization layer (top layer of 15 which is an interlayer dielectric layer) that are stacked on a side (top) of the first organic substrate (substrate 131 modified to use the material of 6 of Zhang-2) distal from the first inorganic substrate (132 of Jiang, modified to use the material of 5 of Zhang-2), wherein the pixel unit (portion defined by pixel defining layer 16) is disposed on the planarization layer (top layer of 15); and an orthogonal projection of the inorganic insulation film layer (bottom layer of 191) on the second surface (bottom of substrate) is overlapped with an orthogonal projection of the first sub-coating layer (one of the layers of multilayer 18) on the second surface (bottom layer of 191 extends to cover side wall and overlaps with sublayers of 18).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 5-7, 10-16, and 20 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
CN 111341210 A includes a feature similar to the shielding structure that is formed by side etching and shares some authors with the instant inventions but currently qualifies as prior art under 102(a)(1) with a publication date June 26, 2020.
US 2023/0189627 A1 is a US patent document that has priority to CN 111341210 listed above and currently qualifies as prior art under 102(a)(2) but may be subject to a 102(b)(2)(A) and/or 102(b)(2)(C) exception.
US 2023/0094306 A1 includes a similar feature to the shielding structure formed by side etching but possible rejections under this reference could be overcome by the filing of a translation of foreign priority documents.
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/A.M.W./Examiner, Art Unit 2897
/JACOB Y CHOI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2897