DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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 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.
This Office Action is in response to Amendments/Remarks filed on September 24, 2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0090226 A1 to Oh et al. (“Oh”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0303427 A1 to Kondo et al. (“Kondo”). As to claim 1, although Oh discloses a display device comprising: a first substrate (110) comprising a display area (AA) and a non-display area (NAA); an inorganic layer (130) disposed on the first substrate (110) in the non-display area (NAA); color filter pattern layers (150, 160) disposed on the inorganic layer (130) and spaced apart from each other; a second substrate (210, 220) facing the first substrate (110); a light-blocking member (240) disposed on a surface of the second substrate (210, 220), the light-blocking member (240) not overlapping (Fig. 2) the color filter pattern layers (150, 160) in the non-display area (NAA); and a seal member (170) disposed between the first substrate (110) and the second substrate (210, 220), the seal member (170) contacting the color filter pattern layers (150, 160) and the inorganic layer (130) (See Fig. 1-Fig. 5, ¶ 0040, ¶ 0041, ¶ 0047, ¶ 0050, ¶ 0051, ¶ 0057-¶ 0060, ¶ 0067-¶ 0071, ¶ 0073-¶ 0075, ¶ 0078, ¶ 0079, ¶ 0081-¶ 0083) (Notes: the light blocking member blocks/filters a certain wavelength), Oh does not further disclose wherein a first edge and a second edge of the light-blocking member are respectively aligned with edges of the color filter pattern layers in a thickness direction of the first substrate. However, Kondo does disclose wherein a first edge and a second edge of the light-blocking member (5) are respectively aligned with edges of lines (4) in a thickness direction of the first substrate (1) (See Fig. 2, Fig. 4, ¶ 0009-¶ 0013, ¶ 0020, ¶ 0029, ¶ 0030-¶ 0039). In view of the teaching of Kondo, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Oh to have wherein a first edge and a second edge of the light-blocking member are respectively aligned with edges of the color filter pattern layers in a thickness direction of the first substrate because the negative/positive relationship having aligned edges between the light-blocking member and the color filter pattern layers provides reduced size of the non-display area and an uncured portion of the seal member (See ¶ 0009, ¶ 0010, ¶ 0013, ¶ 0039). As to claim 2, Oh further discloses wherein the seal member (170) is disposed in the non-display area (NAA) and overlaps the light-blocking member (240), the color filter pattern layers (150, 160), and the inorganic layer (130) (See Fig. 4, Fig. 5). As to claim 3, Oh further discloses wherein the seal member (170) contacts the inorganic layer (130) exposed between the color filter pattern layers (150, 160) (See Fig. 4, Fig. 5). As to claim 4, Oh in view of Kondo further discloses wherein the light-blocking member (240/5) comprises openings (left, right/6), and wherein the openings (left, right/6) of the light-blocking member (240/5) overlap the color filter pattern layers (150, 160/4) in the thickness direction (See Oh Fig. 2, Fig. 4, Fig. 5 and Kondo Fig. 2, Fig. 4). As to claim 5, Oh in view of Kondo further discloses wherein a width of each of the openings (left, right/6) of the light-blocking member (240/5) is substantially equal to a width of each of the color filter pattern layers (150, 160/4) respectively overlapping the openings (left, right/6) of the light-blocking member (240/5) in the thickness direction (See Oh Fig. 2, Fig. 4, Fig. 5 and Kondo Fig. 2, Fig. 4) (Note: the limitation “substantially” is not explicitly defined such that Oh and Kondo meet the limitation). As to claim 6, Oh in view of Kondo further discloses wherein a gap between the edges of the color filter pattern layers (150, 160/4) is substantially equal to a width of the light-blocking member (240/5) (See Oh Fig. 2, Fig. 4, Fig. 5 and Kondo Fig. 2, Fig. 4) (Note: the limitation “substantially” is not explicitly defined such that Oh and Kondo meet the limitation).
Claim(s) 1, 7-9, and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0309416 A1 to Gotoh (“Gotoh”) in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0303427 A1 to Kondo et al. (“Kondo”) and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0063785 A1 to Kim et al. (“Kim”).
As to claim 1, although Gotoh discloses a display device comprising: a first substrate (100) comprising a display area (10 under bottom 112) and a non-display area (outer); an inorganic layer (106) disposed on the first substrate (100) in the non-display area (outer); color filter pattern layers (61, 62/61, 62, 107) disposed on the inorganic layer (106) and spaced apart from each other; a second substrate (200) facing the first substrate (100); a light-blocking member (71, 72) disposed on a surface of the second substrate (200), the light-blocking member (71, 72) not overlapping the color filter pattern layers (61, 62/61, 62, 107) in the non-display area (outer); and a seal member (300) disposed between the first substrate (100) and the second substrate (200), the seal member (300) contacting the color filter pattern layers (61, 62/61, 62, 107) and the inorganic layer (106) (See Fig. 1, Fig. 4, Fig. 6, Fig. 9, Fig. 10, Fig. 14, ¶ 0039, ¶ 0043, ¶ 0044, ¶ 0049, ¶ 0055, ¶ 0056, ¶ 0058-¶ 0061, ¶ 0074, ¶ 0076-¶ 0079, ¶ 0086) (Notes: the light blocking member blocks/reflects/refracts a certain wavelength, as the material is not specified), Gotoh does not further disclose wherein a first edge and a second edge of the light-blocking member are respectively aligned with edges of the color filter pattern layers in a thickness direction of the first substrate. However, Kondo does disclose wherein a first edge and a second edge of the light-blocking member (5) are respectively aligned with edges of lines (4) in a thickness direction of the first substrate (1) (See Fig. 2, Fig. 4, ¶ 0009-¶ 0013, ¶ 0020, ¶ 0029, ¶ 0030-¶ 0039) and Kim discloses ultraviolet photoinitiators are included in the seal member (310) to improve the cure rate (See ¶ 0043, ¶ 0044). In view of the teachings of Gotoh, Kondo, and Kim, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Gotoh to have wherein a first edge and a second edge of the light-blocking member are respectively aligned with edges of the color filter pattern layers in a thickness direction of the first substrate because the negative/positive relationship having aligned edges between the light-blocking member and the color filter pattern layers provides reduced size of the non-display area and an uncured portion of the seal member (See Gotoh, Kondo ¶ 0009, ¶ 0010, ¶ 0013, ¶ 0039, and Kim ¶ 0043). As to claim 7, Gotoh discloses further comprising a color filter layer (107, 108, 109) disposed on the inorganic layer (106) and extending from the display area (10 under bottom 112) to the non-display area (outer), and comprising a first color filter (107), a second color filter (108), and a third color filter (109) configured to transmit light of different colors, respectively (See Fig. 6, Fig. 10, Fig. 14). As to claim 8, Gotoh further discloses wherein each of the color filter pattern layers (61, 62, 107) comprises a lower pattern layer (107) disposed on the inorganic layer (106) and an upper pattern layer (61, 62) disposed on the lower pattern layer (107) (See Fig. 14). As to claim 9, Gotoh further discloses wherein the lower pattern layer (107) and the first color filter (107) comprises a same material, and wherein the upper pattern layer (61, 62) and the third color filter (109) comprise a same material (See Fig. 14). As to claim 11, Gotoh further discloses wherein the seal member (300) overlaps a portion of the color filter layer (107, 108, 109), and wherein the light-blocking member (72) does not overlap the color filter layer (107, 108, 109) (See Fig. 10).
As to claim 12, Gotoh further discloses, wherein the color filter pattern layers (61, 62) are spaced apart from the color filter layer (107) in the non-display area (outer) (See Fig. 14).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Conclusion
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 DAVID CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7438. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 12-6.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JOSHUA BENITEZ can be reached at (571) 270-1435. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DAVID CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2815
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