DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s Remarks filed on 12/03/2025.
Currently, claims 1-18 are pending in the application. Currently, claim 17 is withdrawn.
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 Amendments
Applicant' s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-16 and 18 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on the same combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over PARK et al. (US Pub. No. 2021/0398488) in view of KIMURA et al. (US Pub. No. 2017/0117337).
Regarding independent claim 1, Park teaches a display apparatus (Figs. 8-9) comprising:
a plurality of subpixels (DE1-1, ¶ [0163]) disposed on a substrate (Fig. 9, 100, ¶ [0058]), each of the plurality of subpixels including first (Fig. 9, EA1-1, ¶ [0167]) and second light emission areas (Fig. 9, EA1-2, ¶ [0167]) and a non-light emission area (Fig. 9, area overlapping PDL and not overlapping EA1-1 and EA1-2, ¶ [0165]) disposed between the first and second light emission areas,
wherein one of the plurality of subpixels includes:
an anode electrode (Figs. 8 & 9, PX1-1, ¶ [0165]) disposed on the substrate, and including first (Figs. 8 & 9, portion of PXL1-1 in EA1-1) and second divided electrodes (Figs. 8 & 9, portion of PXL1-2 in EA1-2);
a light emitting element (Fig. 9, IML-1 +IML-2, ¶ [0165]) disposed on the anode electrode in the first and second light emission areas;
a bank (Fig. 9, PDL, ¶ [0155]) disposed on the anode electrode in the non-light emission area; and
a cathode electrode (Fig. 9, OE, ¶ [0158]) disposed on the light emitting element and the bank, and
wherein the first divided electrode is disposed in the first light emission area, and the second divided electrode is disposed in the second light emission area (Fig. 9),
wherein the cathode electrode includes a first cathode electrode (Fig. 9, OE, ¶ [0158]) disposed on the light emitting element and the bank,
wherein the first cathode electrode is divided into a plurality of areas (Fig. 9, portions of OE in EA1-1 and EA1-2) and is disposed in each of the first and second light emission areas.
However, Park does not explicitly teach that the first cathode electrode disposed in the first light emission area and the first cathode electrode disposed in the second light emission area are spaced apart from each other and are not electrically connected to each other.
However, Kimura is a pertinent art that teaches that the first cathode electrode (Fig. 4, 130a, ¶ [0052]) disposed in the first light emission area (Fig. 4, G23, ¶ [0051]) and the first cathode electrode (Fig. 4, 130b, ¶ [0052]) disposed in the second light emission area (Fig. 4, B23, ¶ [0052]) are spaced apart from each other (Fig. 4) and are not electrically connected to each other (Figs. 4 & 6, 130a and 130b are physically and electrically separated by bank 136 and organic insulation layer 150, ¶ [0072]. Further, ¶ [0093] teaches that the electrodes 130 are separately driven).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Park’s cathode to be separated according to the teaching of Kimura (Fig. 4) in order to average image color by separately driving the second electrodes (Kimura ¶¶ [0054]-[0060]).
Regarding claim 2, Park modified by Kimura teaches the display apparatus of claim 1, and Park teaches that the non-light emission area (Fig. 9, area overlapping PDL and not overlapping EA1-1 and EA1-2, ¶ [0165]) is disposed to surround each of the first (Fig. 9, EA1-1, ¶ [0167]) and second light emission areas (Fig. 9, EA1-2, ¶ [0167]).
Regarding claim 3, Park modified by Kimura teaches the display apparatus of claim 1, and Park teaches that the first divided electrode (Figs. 8 & 9, portion of PXL1-1 in EA1-1) and the second divided electrode (Figs. 8 & 9, portion of PXL1-2 in EA1-2) are electrically connected with each other (Figs. 8 & 9, portions of PXL1-1 in EA1-1 and EA1-2 are directly connected with each other).
Regarding claim 4, Park modified by Kimura teaches the display apparatus of claim 3, and Park teaches that the anode electrode (Figs. 8 & 9, PX1-1, ¶ [0165]) further includes a connection portion (Figs. 8 & 9, portion of PX1-1 between EA1-1 and EA1-2) disposed between the first divided electrode (Figs. 8 & 9, portion of PXL1-1 in EA1-1) and the second divided electrode (Figs. 8 & 9, portion of PXL1-2 in EA1-2) to electrically connect the first divided electrode with the second divided electrode.
Regarding claim 5, Park modified by Kimura teaches the display apparatus of claim 1, and Park teaches that the cathode electrode (Fig. 9, OE, ¶ [0158] teaches that OE can be made of a transparent conductive oxide) is made of a transparent conductive material.
Claims 6-7, 11-12, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over PARK et al. (US Pub. No. 2021/0398488) in view of KIMURA et al. (US Pub. No. 2017/0117337) and further in view of KWON et al. (US Pub. No. 2015/0243716).
Regarding claim 6, Park modified by Kimura teaches the display apparatus of claim 1.
However, Park modified by Kimura does not explicitly teach a second cathode electrode disposed on the first cathode electrode.
However, Kwon is a pertinent art that teaches a second cathode electrode (Fig. 1, 195b, ¶ [0042]) disposed on the first cathode electrode (Fig. 1, 195a, ¶ [0042]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Park’s cathode to further comprise an auxiliary electrode according to the teaching of Kwon (Fig. 1) in order to reduce line resistance (Kwon ¶ [0058]).
Regarding claim 7, Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon teaches the display apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first cathode electrode (Park Fig. 9, OE, ¶ [0158]) in the first light emission area (Park Fig. 9, EA1-1, ¶ [0167]) and the second cathode electrode (Kwon Fig. 1, 195b, ¶ [0042]) in the first light emission area (Kwon Fig. 1, area of emission layer 190 in direct contact with first electrode 180, ¶ [0042]) are not in contact with each other, and are insulated from each other (Kwon Fig. 1, ¶ [0042] teaches that in the area of Kwon’s device corresponding to Park’s emission area, Kwon’s second electrode 195a is not physically connected to auxiliary electrode 195b. 195a and 195b are physically insulated from each other in Kwon’s emission area by insulating layer 193).
Regarding claim 11, Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon teaches the display apparatus of claim 6, and Park modified by Kwon teaches a coating layer (Kwon Fig. 1, 193, ¶ [0042]) is disposed between the first cathode electrode (Kwon Fig. 1, 195a, ¶ [0042]) and the second cathode electrode (Kwon Fig. 1, 195b, ¶ [0042]), which are disposed in the first light emission area (Park Fig. 9, EA1-1, ¶ [0167]).
Regarding claim 12, Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon teaches the display apparatus of claim 11, and Park modified by Kwon teaches that in the first light emission area (Park Fig. 9, EA1-1, ¶ [0167]), the first cathode electrode (Kwon Fig. 1, 195a, ¶ [0042]) is electrically connected with the first divided electrode (Park Figs. 8 & 9, portion of PXL1-1 in EA1-1. Kwon’s second electrode 195a is electrically connected to Kwon’s first electrode 180 through emission layer 190 (¶¶ [0043] & [0081]). Therefore, Park modified by Kwon would fulfil this limitation).
Regarding claim 16, Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon teaches the display apparatus of claim 11, and Park modified by Kwon teaches that a portion of the light emitting element is not continuous (Fig. 9, ¶¶ [0095]-[0097] teaches a state where the emission layer 190 is not continuous because of a particle PC. It would be obvious to further modify Park modified by Kwon’s device according to the teaching of Kwon Fig.9 in order to reduce dark spot defects that occur at shorted portions of the electrodes (Kwon ¶ [0102])) in the first light emission area (Park Fig. 9, EA1-1, ¶ [0167]).
Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over PARK et al. (US Pub. No. 2021/0398488) in view of KIMURA et al. (US Pub. No. 2017/0117337) in view of KWON et al. (US Pub. No. 2015/0243716) and further in view of YOU et al. (US Pub. No. 2023/0180525).
Regarding claim 13, Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon teaches the display apparatus of claim 11.
However, Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon does not explicitly teach that the bank includes a first bank surrounding each of the first and second divided electrodes and a second bank surrounding the first bank, and the coating layer is disposed inside an area surrounded by the second bank, and covers the entire first cathode electrode disposed in the first light emission area.
However, You is a pertinent art that teaches the bank (Fig. 2, 200, ¶ [0063]) includes a first bank (Fig. 2, 202, ¶ [0065]) surrounding each of the first and second divided electrodes (Fig. 2, E1, ¶ [0062], corresponding to each part of Park’s first electrode in Park’s first and second light emission areas) and a second bank (Fig. 2, 201, ¶ [0065]) surrounding the first bank, and the coating layer (Fig. 2, 211, ¶ [0072], corresponding to Park modified by Kwon’s insulating layer) is disposed inside an area surrounded by the second bank, and covers the entire first cathode electrode (Fig. 2, E2, ¶ [0070]) disposed in the first light emission area (area of You’s device where emission layer EL is in direct contact with pixel electrode E1 and between partitions 200 (¶ [0068])).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon’s banks to have first and second banks according to the teaching of You (Fig. 2) in order to prevent or reduce defects (You ¶ [0067]).
Regarding claim 14, Park modified by Kwon modified by You teaches the display apparatus of claim 13, and You teaches that the second bank (Fig. 2, 201, ¶ [0065]) has a height higher than that of the first bank (Fig. 2, 202, ¶ [0065]).
Claims 8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over PARK et al. (US Pub. No. 2021/0398488) in view of KIMURA et al. (US Pub. No. 2017/0117337) in view of KWON et al. (US Pub. No. 2015/0243716) and further in view of LEE et al. (US Pub. No. 2022/0262876).
Regarding claim 8, Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon teaches the display apparatus of claim 6.
However, Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon does not explicitly teach first and second sensing lines on the substrate in the non-light emission area, wherein the first cathode electrode disposed in the first light emission area is electrically connected to the first sensing line, and the first cathode electrode disposed in the second light emission area is electrically connected to the second sensing line.
However, Lee is a pertinent art that teaches first and second sensing lines (Fig. 3, CE-A, ¶¶ [0092] & [0149] teaches a conductive layer capable of transmitting voltage to a cathode in a similar manner to Applicant’s sensing lines. Park modified by Kwon modified by Lee would have one CE-A for each Park’s light emission areas and would therefore fulfill this limitation) on the substrate (Fig. 3, 110, ¶ [0062]) in the non-light emission area (Fig. 3, NPXA , ¶ [0093]), wherein the first cathode electrode (Fig. 3, CE, ¶ [0098]) disposed in the first light emission area (Fig. 3, PXA, ¶ [0093]) is electrically connected to the first sensing line, and the first cathode electrode disposed in the second light emission area is electrically connected to the second sensing line (Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon modified by Lee would have one CE-A for each Park’s light emission areas and would therefore fulfill this limitation).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon’s device according to the teaching of Lee (Fig. 3) in order to improve optical uniformity (Lee ¶ [0150]).
Regarding claim 10, Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon modified by Lee teaches the display apparatus of claim 8, and Park modified by Kwon modified by Lee teaches that the first cathode electrode (Lee Fig. 3, CE, ¶ [0098], corresponding to Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon’s second electrode, auxiliary electrode, and insulating layer structure (Kwon Fig. 1)) is electrically connected to the first sensing line (Lee Fig. 3, CE-A, ¶¶ [0092] & [0149]) or the second sensing line through a contact hole (Lee Fig. 3, 70op2, ¶ [0092]), and wherein a coating layer (Kwon Fig. 1, 193, ¶ [0042]) disposed between the first cathode electrode and the second cathode electrode is disposed to fill the contact hole (Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon modified by Lee’s contact hole would be at least partially filled by Kwon’s insulating layer 193).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over PARK et al. (US Pub. No. 2021/0398488) in view of KIMURA et al. (US Pub. No. 2017/0117337) and further in view of KWON et al. (US Pub. No. 2015/0243716) and further in view of LEE et al. (US Pub. No. 2022/0262876) and further in view of YOU et al. (US Pub. No. 2023/0180525).
Regarding claim 15, Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon modified by Lee teaches the display apparatus of claim 8.
However, Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon modified by Lee does not explicitly teach that the bank includes a first bank surrounding each of the first and second divided electrodes and a second bank surrounding the first bank, and wherein the second bank is disposed in an outer area rather than the first and second sensing lines.
However, You is a pertinent art that teaches the bank (Fig. 2, 200, ¶ [0063]) includes a first bank (Fig. 2, 202, ¶ [0065]) surrounding each of the first and second divided electrodes (Fig. 2, E1, ¶ [0062], corresponding to each part of Park’s first electrode in Park’s first and second light emission areas) and a second bank Fig. 2, 201, ¶ [0065]) surrounding the first bank, and wherein the second bank is disposed in an outer area rather than the first and second sensing lines (Lee’s CE-A does not overlap with Lee’s pixel definition layer 70, corresponding to You’s bank 200. Therefore, Park modified by Kwon modified by Lee modified by You would fulfill this limitation).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon modified by Lee’s banks to have first and second banks according to the teaching of You (Fig. 2) in order to prevent or reduce defects (You ¶ [0067]).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over PARK et al. (US Pub. No. 2021/0398488) in view of KIMURA et al. (US Pub. No. 2017/0117337) and further in view of KWON et al. (US Pub. No. 2015/0243716) and further in view of LEIRER et al. (US Pub. No. 2018/0219135).
Regarding claim 18, Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon teaches the display apparatus of claim 11.
However, Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon does not explicitly teach that the coating layer is made of metal, and a surface of the coating layer is oxidized to form an insulating layer (the Examiner notes that Kwon does teach that Kwon’s insulating layer can be made of any suitable inorganic material such as metal oxides (¶¶ [0082]-[0083])).
However, Leirer is a pertinent art that teaches the coating layer (Fig. 3A, 4 + 5, ¶ [0051]) is made of metal (Fig. 3A, 4, ¶ [0051]), and a surface (Fig. 3A, 5, ¶ [0051]) of the coating layer is oxidized to form an insulating layer.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Park modified by Kimura modified by Kwon’s device according to the teaching of Leirer (Fig. 3A) in order to reduce manufacturing costs. Further, it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the base of its suitability, for its intended use involves only ordinary skill in the art. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Allowable subject matter
Claim 9 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim (claim 8), but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The closest prior art known to the Examiner is listed on the PTO 892 forms of record.
With respect to dependent claim 9, the cited prior art does not anticipate or make obvious, inter alia, the step of: “the second cathode electrode is disposed to not overlap with the first sensing line and the second sensing line, and is disposed to not electrically connected with the first sensing line and the second sensing line”.
Cited Prior Art
The Examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record within the body of this action for the convenience of the Applicant.
Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply.
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
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/R.P.S./
Examiner, Art Unit 2813
/KHAJA AHMAD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2813