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 .
Response to Amendment
Claims 5 and 6 have been cancelled; claims 1 and 14 have been amended; and claims 1-4 and 7-15 are currently pending.
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 7, 8 and 15 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 7 recites the limitation “at least one of the to-be-evaporated regions” in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 8 recites the limitation “a plurality of to-be-evaporated regions in one of the to-be-evaporated regions” in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 15 recites “the two to-be-evaporated sub-regions.” While amended claim 1 recites two sub-regions in the second-type region, claim 15 does not identify the region. It is unclear whether claim 15 is limited to the second-type region.
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.
Claims 1-4 and 7-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over KO et al. (US 2010/0033084 A1, hereinafter “KO”) in view of Credelle (US 2003/0128179 A1, hereinafter “Credelle”).
In regards to claim 1, KO discloses (See, for example, Figs. 1-4) a to-be-evaporated substrate, comprising:
a substrate (100), comprising a to-be-evaporated region (150) and a non-evaporated region (200), wherein the non-evaporated region (200) surrounds (See, for example, Fig. 3) the to-be-evaporated region (150); and
a support pattern, disposed on the substrate and located in the non-evaporated region (See, for example, Fig. 2B),
wherein, the support pattern comprises a first symmetrical pattern, the first symmetrical pattern is formed by a plurality of supporters (It can be seen from figure 2B that each spacer comprises a first symmetric pattern and consists of a plurality of support structures, which are distributed along the periphery of a region to be evaporated), and
the plurality of supporters forming the first symmetrical pattern are arranged along a perimeter of the to-be-evaporated region (wherein any pixel is a region to be evaporated, the pixel region is a second symmetric pattern, and an axis of symmetry of the first symmetric pattern coincides with an axis of symmetry of the second symmetric pattern; the first symmetric pattern comprises two axes of symmetry that are perpendicular to each other; the second symmetric pattern comprises two axes of symmetry that are perpendicular to each other; and the two axes of symmetry of the first symmetric pattern coincide with the two axes of symmetry of the second symmetric pattern in a manner of corresponding to each other on a one-to-one basis.)
KO is silent about wherein the number of to-be-evaporated regions is multiple, the to-be-evaporated regions comprise a first-type to-be-evaporated region, a second-type to-be-evaporated region, and a third-type to-be-evaporated region, and the first-type to-be-evaporated region is used to evaporate a red light-emitting material, the second-type to-be-evaporated region is used to evaporate a blue light-emitting material, and the third-type to-be-evaporated region [[are]]is used to evaporate a green light-emitting material;
wherein the second- type to-be-evaporated region comprises two to-be-evaporated sub-regions arranged in a spacing, and the first-type to-be-evaporated region and the third-type to-be-evaporated region comprise one to-be-evaporated sub-region respectively.
Credelle while disclosing a display sub-pixel arrangement teaches (see, for example, Fig. 1)
wherein the number of to-be-evaporated regions is multiple, the to-be-evaporated regions comprise a first-type to-be-evaporated region (104), a second-type to-be-evaporated region (102), and a third-type to-be-evaporated region (106), and the first-type to-be-evaporated region (104) is used to evaporate a red light-emitting material (“red sub-pixels 104”, Se Par [0024]), the second-type to-be-evaporated region (102) is used to evaporate a blue light-emitting material (“blue sub-pixels 102 are “split” ”, Se Par [0024]), and the third-type to-be-evaporated region (106) is used to evaporate a green light-emitting material (“green sub-pixels 106”, Se Par [0024]);
wherein the second- type to-be-evaporated region (102) comprises two to-be-evaporated sub-regions arranged in a spacing (the two blue sub-pixels 102 being arranged as a spaced pair within the repeat cell 120 (See, Fig. 1) ), and the first-type to-be-evaporated region (104) and the third-type to-be-evaporated region (106) comprise one to-be-evaporated sub-region respectively (the double blue region with two spaced sub-regions: “blue sub-pixles 102 ‘split’-i.e. having a smaller width along the horizontal axis than either red or green sub-pixels but doubled in number per grouping or repeat cell.”, See Par [0024]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to arrange the to-be-evaporated regions of KO according to the split-blue sub-pixel arrangement of Credelle because doubling and splitting the blue region breaks up the noticeable effect of visible vertical blue stripes and thereby improves the perceived image quality of the display.
In regards to claim 14, KO discloses (See, for example, Fig. 1-4) a method of manufacturing a display substrate, comprising: preparing a mask and a to-be-evaporated substrate, wherein the to-be-evaporated substrate comprises:
a substrate (100), comprising a to-be-evaporated region (150) and a non-evaporated region (200), wherein the non-evaporated region (200) surrounds (See, for example, Fig. 3) the to-be-evaporated region (150); and
a support pattern, disposed on the substrate and located in the non-evaporated region (See, for example, Fig. 2B),
wherein, the support pattern comprises a first symmetrical pattern, the first symmetrical pattern is formed by a plurality of supporters (It can be seen from figure 2B that each spacer comprises a first symmetric pattern and consists of a plurality of support structures, which are distributed along the periphery of a region to be evaporated), and the plurality of supporters forming the first symmetrical pattern are arranged along a perimeter of the to-be-evaporated region (wherein any pixel is a region to be evaporated, the pixel region is a second symmetric pattern, and an axis of symmetry of the first symmetric pattern coincides with an axis of symmetry of the second symmetric pattern; the first symmetric pattern comprises two axes of symmetry that are perpendicular to each other; the second symmetric pattern comprises two axes of symmetry that are perpendicular to each other; and the two axes of symmetry of the first symmetric pattern coincide with the two axes of symmetry of the second symmetric pattern in a manner of corresponding to each other on a one-to-one basis);
forming a light emitter (See, Fig. 4) by performing evaporation (depositing an emission layer, Par [0040]) on the to-be-evaporated region (150) using the mask (300).
KO is silent about wherein the number of to-be-evaporated regions is multiple, the to-be-evaporated regions comprise a first-type to-be-evaporated region, a second-type to-be-evaporated region, and a third-type to-be-evaporated region, and the first-type to-be-evaporated region is used to evaporate a red light-emitting material, the second-type to-be-evaporated region is used to evaporate a blue light-emitting material, and the third-type to-be-evaporated region is used to evaporate a green light-emitting material; wherein the second- type to-be-evaporated region comprises two to-be-evaporated sub-regions arranged in a spacing, and the first-type to-be-evaporated region and the third-type to-be-evaporated region comprise one to-be-evaporated sub-region respectively.
Credelle while disclosing a display sub-pixel arrangement teaches (see, for example, Fig. 1) wherein the number of to-be-evaporated regions is multiple, the to-be-evaporated regions comprise a first-type to-be-evaporated region (104), a second-type to-be-evaporated region (102), and a third-type to-be-evaporated region (106), and the first-type to-be-evaporated region (104) is used to evaporate a red light-emitting material (“red sub-pixels 104”, Se Par [0024]), the second-type to-be-evaporated region (102) is used to evaporate a blue light-emitting material (“blue sub-pixels 102 are “split” ”, Se Par [0024]), and the third-type to-be-evaporated region (106) is used to evaporate a green light-emitting material (“green sub-pixels 106”, Se Par [0024]);
wherein the second- type to-be-evaporated region (102) comprises two to-be-evaporated sub-regions arranged in a spacing (the two blue sub-pixels 102 being arranged as a spaced pair within the repeat cell 120 (See, Fig. 1) ), and the first-type to-be-evaporated region (104) and the third-type to-be-evaporated region (106) comprise one to-be-evaporated sub-region respectively (the double blue region with two spaced sub-regions: “blue sub-pixles 102 ‘split’-i.e. having a smaller width along the horizontal axis than either red or green sub-pixels but doubled in number per grouping or repeat cell.”, See Par [0024]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to arrange the to-be-evaporated regions of KO according to the split-blue sub-pixel arrangement of Credelle because doubling and splitting the blue region breaks up the noticeable effect of visible vertical blue stripes and thereby improves the perceived image quality of the display.
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In regards to claim 2, KO discloses (See, for example, Figs. 1-4) the to-be-evaporated region (150) is presented as a second symmetrical pattern, and a symmetrical axis of the first symmetrical pattern coincides with a symmetrical axis of the second symmetrical pattern (wherein any pixel is a region to be evaporated, the pixel region is a second symmetric pattern, and an axis of symmetry of the first symmetric pattern coincides with an axis of symmetry of the second symmetric pattern; the first symmetric pattern comprises two axes of symmetry that are perpendicular to each other; the second symmetric pattern comprises two axes of symmetry that are perpendicular to each other; and the two axes of symmetry of the first symmetric pattern coincide with the two axes of symmetry of the second symmetric pattern in a manner of corresponding to each other on a one-to-one basis).
In regards to claim 3, KO discloses (See, annotated Fig. 2A below) the first symmetrical pattern comprises two symmetrical axes (X-axis and Y-axis) perpendicular to each other; the to-be-evaporated region (150) is presented as a second symmetrical pattern, the second symmetrical pattern comprises two symmetrical axes (X-axis and Y-axis) perpendicular to each other; and the two symmetrical axes of the first symmetrical pattern (for example, 150a, 150b, or 150c) are respectively coincided with the two symmetrical axes (X-axis and Y-axis) of the second symmetrical pattern (200).
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In regards to claim 4, KO discloses (See, for example, Figs. 1-4) the plurality of supporters each comprise a plurality of support columns arranged in a spacing (See, for example, Fig. 4).
In regards to claim 7, KO discloses (See, for example, Figs. 1-4, and See annotated Fig. 2A included above) the two to-be-evaporated sub-regions are presented as two symmetrical patterns, symmetrical axes of two to-be-evaporated sub-regions (X-axis and Y-axis) in one of the at least one of the to-be-evaporated regions (150) coincide with each other, and the symmetrical axes (X-axis and Y-axis) of the to-be-evaporated sub-regions (for example, 150a, 150b) coincide with a symmetrical axis of the first symmetrical pattern (200). (Credelle teaches also: the two split blue sub-pixels 102 of the repeat cell 120 are symmetrical and share a common symmetrical axis, Credelle Fig. 1).
In regards to claim 8, KO discloses (See, for example, Figs. 1-4) the plurality of to-be-evaporated sub-regions (150a, 150b) in one of at least one of the to-be-evaporated regions are used to evaporate a same evaporation material (See, for example, Pars [0040]-[0042]) (Credelle also: both split sub-pixels 102 of the second-type region are blue sub-pixels and therefore receive the same blue light-emitting material, See Fig. 1).
In regards to claim 9, KO discloses (See, for example, Figs. 1-4) the number of first symmetrical patterns (See, for example, 150a, 150b, 150c) is multiple, the to-be-evaporated regions are in one-to-one correspondence with the first symmetrical patterns (200), and two of the first symmetrical patterns share at least one of the supporters (See, for example, Fig. 3).
In regards to claim 10, KO discloses (See, for example, Figs. 1-4) two to-be-evaporated regions (150, See Fig. 3) corresponding to the two first symmetrical patterns (200) sharing at least one of the supporters are used to evaporate a same evaporation material or different evaporation materials (See, for example, Fig. 4 and Pars [0040]-[0042]) (Credelle: adjacent regions receiving red 104, green 106 or blue 102 material, Fig. 1).
In regards to claim 11, KO discloses (See, for example, Figs. 1-4) the supporters each comprise a support layer and a plurality of protrusions (200, See, for example, Fig. 4), the support layer is disposed on the substrate (100), the plurality of protrusions (See, the protrusions of 200, in Fig. 4) are disposed on a side of the support layer away from the substrate (100), and the plurality of protrusions are arranged in a spacing (See, for example, Fig. 4).
In regards to claim 12, KO discloses (See, for example, Figs. 1-4) the substrate comprises: a base (100); a pixel definition layer (120), disposed on a side of the base, wherein the pixel definition layer (120) comprises one or more pixel openings (openings defined in between 120, See, Fig. 3); wherein the to-be-evaporated region (150) comprises one or more to-be-evaporated sub-regions (150a, 150b, 150c), and the pixel opening (openings defined in between 120, See, Fig. 3) forms the to-be-evaporated sub-region (See, for example, Fig. 4).
In regards to claim 13, KO discloses (See, for example, Figs. 1-4) a display substrate, comprising: the to-be-evaporated substrate of claim 1; a light emitter (See, Par [0020]), disposed in the to-be-evaporated region (150).
In regards to claim 15, KO as modified above discloses the two to-be-evaporated sub-regions are arranged symmetrically, and a symmetrical axis of the two to-be-evaporated sub-regions coincides with a symmetrical axis of the first symmetrical pattern (the two splitblue sub-pixels 102 are arranged symmetrically as a spaced pair within the repeat cell 120, Credelle, Fig. 1, Par [0024]; their symmetrical axis coincides with the symmetrical axis of the first symmetrical pattern formed by the spacer 200 of KO, KO Fig. 2B ).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 14 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
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.
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERMIAS T WOLDEGEORGIS whose telephone number is (571)270-5350. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8 am - 5 pm E.S.T..
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Britt Hanley can be reached on 571-270-3042. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERMIAS T WOLDEGEORGIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
