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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/09/2026 has been entered.
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.
Claims 1 and 5-8 are 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 1 recites the limitation "the two of the cathode contact holes" in the 11th line of the claim. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 1 recites the limitation “the cathode contact holes” in the last two lines of the claim. It is unclear whether it refers to “a corresponding one of cathode contact holes” in the third line of the claim, or “one of the cathode contact holes” in the 8th and 9th lines, or "the two of the cathode contact holes" in the 11th line of the claim.
Claims 5-8 are rejected because they depend on the rejected claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1 and 5-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Liu et al. (US 2022/0020827 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Liu et al. teach a display panel (display substrate; Fig. 14a; [0275]), comprising a cathode (51; Fig. 14c, [0275]) and an auxiliary electrode (6; Fig. 14c, [0275]) arranged in a layer (81; Fig. 14c, [0277]) different from the cathode (51), wherein the auxiliary electrode (6) is electrically connected to the cathode (51) through a corresponding one of cathode contact holes (one of the Via3; Figs. 14a-c, [0277]), the display panel (display substrate; Fig. 14a) further comprises a plurality of sub-pixels (R, G, B sub-pixels, i.e. red, green, blue sub-pixels; Fig. 14b, [0024, 0342]) arranged in an array (see Fig. 14b), an extension length of each of the sub-pixels (R, G, B, sub-pixels) along a first direction (the vertical direction of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise as shown below) is less than an extension length of each of the sub-pixels (R, G, B, sub-pixels) along a second direction (the horizontal direction of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise as shown below), and the second direction (the horizontal direction of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise as shown below) intersects the first direction (the vertical direction of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise as shown below); and wherein the sub-pixels (R, G, B sub-pixels) are arranged in a plurality of row sets (row sets each having three immediately adjacent rows of the sub-pixels), each of the row sets (each of the row sets having three immediately adjacent rows of the sub-pixels) comprises at least three adjacent rows of the sub-pixels (three immediately adjacent rows of the sub-pixels), one of the cathode contact holes (the Via3 at the center of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise as shown below) is defined between adjacent two of the row sets of the sub-pixels (between two row sets having three immediately adjacent rows of the sub-pixels with the top row being the B sub-pixel row of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise) and extends along the second direction (the horizontal direction of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise as shown below), outermost two of the sub-pixels of each of the row sets (the left B subpixel and the left G sub-pixels of each of the two row sets with the top row being the B sub-pixel row) are located adjacent to the two of the cathode contact holes (two of Via3 at the bottom edge and top edge of each of the row sets with the top row being the B sub-pixel row of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise as shown below) respectively, and intervening one or more of the sub-pixels of each of the row sets (the left R subpixel of each of the two row sets with the top row being the B sub-pixel row) between and adjacent to the outermost two (the left B subpixel and the left G sub-pixels of each of the row sets) are located away from the cathode contact holes (at least the two of Via3 at the bottom edge and top edge of each of the row sets with the top row being the B sub-pixel row of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise as shown below).
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Fig. 14b of Liu et al. turning 90° counter-clockwise
Regarding claim 5, Liu et al. teach the display panel (display substrate; Fig. 14a) according to claim 1, wherein each of the sub-pixels (R, G, B, sub-pixels) corresponds to one of the cathode contact holes (Via3; see Fig. 14b above).
Regarding claim 6, Liu et al. teach the display panel (display substrate; Fig. 14a) according to claim 1, wherein the sub-pixels (R, G, B, sub-pixels) are red sub-pixels (R sub-pixels), green sub-pixels (G sub-pixels), or blue sub-pixels (B sub-pixels); the red sub-pixels (R sub-pixels), the green sub-pixels (G sub-pixels), and the blue sub-pixels (B sub-pixels) are repeatedly arranged in any combination as repeating units (units of a set of G/R/B sub-pixels); and each of the repeating units (units of a set of G/R/B sub-pixels) is correspondingly provided with one of the cathode contact holes (Via3; see Fig. 14b).
Regarding claim 7, Liu et al. teach the display panel (display substrate; Fig. 14a) according to claim 6, wherein an extension length of each of the red sub-pixels (R sub-pixels) in the second direction (the horizontal direction of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise as shown above), an extension length of each of the green sub-pixels (G sub-pixels) in the second direction (the horizontal direction of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise as shown above), and an extension length of each of the blue sub-pixels (B sub-pixels) in the second direction (the horizontal direction of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise as shown above) are all equal, and an extension length of each of the red sub-pixels (R sub-pixels) along the first direction (the vertical direction of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise as shown above) is greater than an extension length of each of the green sub-pixels (G sub-pixels) along the first direction (the vertical direction of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise as shown above), an extension length of each of the blue sub-pixels (B sub-pixels) along the first direction (the vertical direction of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise as shown above) is greater than the extension length of each of the red sub-pixels (R sub-pixels) along the first direction (the vertical direction of Fig. 14b turning 90° counter-clockwise as shown above).
Regarding claim 8, Liu et al. teach the display panel (display substrate; Fig. 14a) according to claim 7, wherein the cathode contact holes (Via3) are disposed between the red sub-pixels (R sub-pixels) and the green sub-pixels (G sub-pixels).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s amendments, filed 03/09/2026, overcome the rejections to claims 1 and 5-8 under 35 U.S.C. 112. The rejections to claims 1 and 5-8 under 35 U.S.C. 112 have been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Liu et al. (US 12396348 B2) teach a display substrate having cathode contact holes.
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/HSIN YI HSIEH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2899 3/12/2026