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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 08/19/2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 3, 9, 21 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jeong et al. [WO 2021/162180 A1], “Jeong” (The US Publication: US 2023/0055222 A1 is relied upon for easier translation/referencing.)
Regarding claim 1, Jeong discloses a display device (Fig. 1-34) comprising:
a first electrode (Fig. 5, VL1) and a second electrode (VL2) disposed on a base layer (Fig. 4, 101);
a first insulating layer (109) disposed on the first electrode (VL1) and the second electrode (VL2);
a bank (410) disposed on the first insulating layer (109) and including an organic material (¶[0125 ]the internal banks (410) may include an organic insulating material such as polyimide (PI));
a light emitting element (300) disposed in an area surrounded by the bank (410) (as shown in Fig. 5); and
a second insulating layer (510) disposed on the bank (410), wherein:
the second insulating layer (510) forms an opening exposing a surface of the bank (as shown in Fig. 5), and the surface of the bank is formed of the organic material (¶[0125).
Regarding claim 2, Jeong disclose claim 1, Jeong disclose the opening surrounds at least a portion of the area including the light emitting element in a plan view (as shown in Fig 5, banks are partial covered by the second insulating layer (510), and in Fig. 3 shows banks (410) surrounds the LEDs (300)).
Regarding claim 3, Jeong disclose claim 1, Jeong disclose the bank protrudes (Fig. 5, 410) in a thickness direction of the base layer (as shown) and forms a step difference adjacent to the area including the light emitting element (as shown Fig. 5).
Regarding claim 9, Jeong disclose claim 1, Jeong disclose the second insulating layer includes an inorganic material (¶[0160] teaches insulating layer (510) may include an inorganic insulating material).
Regarding claim 22, Jeong disclose claim 1, Jeong disclose the bank comprises a first bank (Fig. 5, 410) and a second bank (450) adjacent to the light emitting element (300), and wherein a width of the first bank is different than a width of the second bank (in the upward direction, the banks width are different).
Regarding claim 23, Jeong disclose an electronic device (Fig. 1, 10) comprising the display device of claim 1 (as shown in Fig. 1).
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 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong et al. [WO 2021/162180 A1], “Jeong” (The US Publication: US 2023/0055222 A1 is relied upon for easier translation/referencing) as applied in claim 9 and further in view of Yoo et al. [US 2022/0045244 A1], “Yoo”.
Regarding claim 10, Jeong disclose claim 9, Jeong disclose the second insulating layer (Fig. 4, 510) include an inorganic insulating material (¶[0160] teaches insulating layer (510) may include an inorganic insulating material) and the first insulating layer is an organic insulating material (¶[0121]. Jeong does not disclose the first insulating layer and the second insulating layer include a same material.
However, Yoo discloses a display panel with the first insulating layer (Fig. 7, PSV and ¶[0188] teaches the material can be inorganic material) and the second insulating layer (INS1 and ¶[0196] teaches the material can be inorganic material).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use an inorganic first insulating layer as taught in Yoo in the device of Jeong such that the first insulating layer and the second insulating layer include a same material because an inorganic insulating layer is a suitable option for providing a planarized layer for the circuit layer (¶[0188]). Further, the selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use supported a prima facie obviousness determination in Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 325 U.S. 327, 65 USPQ 297 (1945) (see MPEP 2144.07).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 6 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.
Claim 7, none of the prior art teaches or suggests, alone or in combination, all of the structural features of the claims, specifically including but not limited to, “a second insulating layer disposed on the bank, wherein the second insulating layer forms an opening exposing a surface of the bank, and wherein at least a portion of the surface of the bank is recessed and forms a cavity in an area overlapping the opening formed by the second insulating layer in a plan view,” as required by the claim.
Claim 8 is allowed by virtues of their dependencies on claim 7.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection required by Applicant’s amendment.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The list of prior art below teaches semiconductor display devices with LD surrounded by bank structures. The insulation layer located above the bank includes an opening.
Min et al. [US 2021/0305222 A1]
Kim et al . [US 2022/0037302 A1]
Park et al. [US 2022/0052108 A1]
Chai et al. [US 2021/0399040 A1]
Cho et al. [US 2022/0013693 A1]
Oh et al. [US 2022/0139319 A1]
Li et al. [US 2021/0288217 A1]
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PRIYA M RAMPERSAUD whose telephone number is (571)272-3464. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Wed 9am-6pm.
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, Chad Dicke can be reached at (571)270-7996. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
PRIYA M. RAMPERSAUD
Examiner
Art Unit 2897
/P.M.R/Examiner, Art Unit 2897
/MARK W TORNOW/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2891