Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
1. 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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 04/28/2026 has been entered. Claims 1-17 & 19-21 in the application remain pending. Claim 17 was amended. Claim 18 remains cancelled. Claims 1-16 & 20 remain withdrawn from consideration. Claim 21 is new.
2. The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S.C. code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office Action.
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
3. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
4. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/12/2025 is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections
5. The claim rejections under AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by Kim (US 2021/0020704 A1) of claims 17 & 19 are withdrawn per amendments of claim 17.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
6. 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 of this title, 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.
7. The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
8. Claims 17, 19 & 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (US 2021/0020704 A1) hereinafter Kim in view of Baek (US 20170179390 A1) hereinafter Baek.
Regarding claims 17, 19 & 21, the recitation of “cell” is being interpreted as an area or region on the mask and/or corresponding to a deposition region on the substrate wherein deposition is taking place.
As regards to claim 17, Kim discloses a mask 422B comprising a cell AR2-2 including a mask first area (see fig 20, 22, 24, area below W1) and a mask second area (see fig 20, 22, 24, area between W2) when seen along a direction normal to the mask 422B, wherein the mask first area (see fig 20, 22, 24, area below W1) includes a wide-area through hole 422B-2, in the mask first area (see fig 20, 22, 24, area below W1), the wide-area through hole 422B-2 spreads in a gapless manner (see fig 20, 22, 24), the mask second area (see fig 20, 22, 24, area between W2) includes a shielding area (see fig 20, 22, 24, solid portion between W2) and two or more of the wide-area through holes 422B-2 surrounded by the shielding area (see fig 20, 22, 24, solid portion between W2) ([0219]-[0232]; fig 20, 22, 24), however Kim does not disclose the shielding area of the mask second area includes a concave portion that does not pass through a metal plate of the mask.
Baek discloses a mask (abs; fig 1-14), comprising a shielding area (see fig 4, solid areas between 201 & 202) of a mask second area AA includes a concave portion (see fig 4, portions above & below 214c) that does not pass through a metal plate (see fig 4, plate forming area between 201 & 202 of the mask 210 ([0052]-[0061]; [0080]-[0083]; fig 3-4). Before the effective filing date of the invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to include the shielding area of the mask second area includes a concave portion that does not pass through a metal plate of the mask in the mask of Kim, because Baek teaches the use of a shielding area (see fig 4, solid areas between 201 & 202) of a mask second area AA includes a concave portion (see fig 4, portions above & below 214c) that does not pass through a metal plate (see fig 4, plate forming area between 201 & 202 of the mask 210 so that a shadow area of the sub-mask is reduced thereby improving the quality of a deposition pattern ([0080]-[0083]).
As regards to claim 19, Kim discloses a mask 422B (abs; fig 20, 22, 24), wherein the mask second area (see fig 20, 22, 24, area between W2) is in contact with the cell fourth side (see fig 20, 22, 24, bottom boundary line) ([0219]-[0232]; fig 20, 22, 24).
As regards to claim 21, Kim discloses a mask 422B (abs; fig 20, 22, 24), wherein the cell AR2-2 includes cell contours (see fig 20, 22, 24, boundary lines of 422B-2) including cell first and second sides (see fig 20, 22, 24, left and right boundary lines) that are opposite to each other in a mask first direction (see fig 20, 22, 24) and cell third and fourth sides (see fig 20, 22, 24, top and bottom boundary lines) that are opposite to each other in a mask second direction (see fig 20, 22, 24) intersecting the mask first direction (see fig 20, 22, 24), and the wide-area through hole 422B-2 in the mask first area (see fig 20, 22, 24, area below W1) spreads along the cell first side (see fig 20, 22, 24, left boundary line), the cell second side (see fig 20, 22, 24, right boundary line), the cell third side (see fig 20, 22, 24, top boundary line) and a part of the cell fourth side (see fig 20, 22, 24, bottom boundary line) ([0219]-[0232]; fig 20, 22, 24).
Response to Arguments
9. Applicant's arguments filed 04/28/2026 have been fully considered but are rendered moot because the arguments do not apply to the combination of references being used in the current rejection.
Conclusion
10. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: all references cited on the attached PTO-892 Notice of References Cited excluding the above relied upon references.
11. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jethro M Pence whose telephone number is (571)270-7423. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 8:00 A.M. - 6:30 P.M..
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dah-Wei D. Yuan can be reached on 571-272-1295. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Jethro M. Pence/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1717
Prosecution Insights