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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-13, in the reply filed on 10 November 2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 14-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 10 November 2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-6 and 10-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Jiao (US 2023/0003927).
Regarding independent claim 1, Jiao teaches a color converting panel (Fig. 3D) comprising a substrate (Fig. 3D; lowermost layer); a plurality of banks (Fig. 5A, Element 17; ¶ [0091]) disposed on the substrate, wherein the banks partition a red light emitting area (Fig. 3D, Element 111; ¶ [0063]), a green light emitting area (Fig. 3D, Element 121; ¶ [0063]), a blue light emitting area (Fig. 3D, Element 131; ¶ [0063]), and a white light emitting area (Fig. 3D, Element 141; ¶ [0065]); a red color conversion layer (Fig. 3D, Element 103; ¶ [0065]) disposed in the red light emitting area; a green color conversion layer (Fig. 3D, Element 101; ¶ [0065]) disposed in the green light emitting area; and a green color conversion layer (101) and a red color conversion layer (103) disposed in the white light emitting area (Fig. 3D).
Regarding claim 2, Jiao teaches the green color conversion layer (101) and the red color conversion layer (103) in the white light emitting area (141) stacked one on another (Fig. 3D).
Regarding claim 3, Jiao teaches the green color conversion layer (101) and the red color conversion layer (103) in the white light emitting area (141) mixed with each other to define a single layer (Fig. 3C).
Regarding claim 4, Jiao teaches a transmission layer (Fig. 5A, Element 18; ¶ [0092]) disposed in the blue light emitting area (131) and the white light emitting area (141).
Regarding claim 5, Jiao teaches the green color conversion layer (101), the red color conversion layer (103), and the transmission layer (18) in the white light emitting area stacked one on another (Fig. 5A).
Regarding claim 6, Jiao teaches the green color conversion layer (101), the red color conversion layer (103), and the transmission layer (18) in the white light emitting area mixed with each other to define a single layer in the white light emitting area (Fig. 5A).
Regarding claim 10, Jiao teaches a red color filter (Fig. 3D, Element 105; ¶ [0074]) disposed on the substrate and overlapping the red light emitting area; a green color filter (Fig. 3D, Element 106; ¶ [0075]) disposed on the substrate and overlapping the green light emitting area; and a blue color filter (Fig. 3D, Element 107; ¶ [0076]) disposed on the substrate and overlapping the blue light emitting area.
Regarding claim 11, Jiao teaches a reflective color filter (Fig. 4F, Element 151; ¶s [0078], [0091]) disposed on the substrate and overlapping the white light emitting area.
Regarding independent claim 12, Jiao teaches a color converting panel comprising a substrate (Fig. 3D; lowermost layer); a plurality of banks (Fig. 5A, Element 17; ¶ [0091]) disposed on the substrate, wherein the banks partition a red light emitting area (Fig. 3D, Element 111; ¶ [0063]), a green light emitting area (Fig. 3D, Element 121; ¶ [0063]), a blue light emitting area (Fig. 3D, Element 131; ¶ [0063]), and a white light emitting area (Fig. 3D, Element 141; ¶ [0065]); a red color conversion layer (Fig. 3D, Element 103; ¶ [0065]) disposed in the red light emitting area; a green color conversion layer (Fig. 3D, Element 101; ¶ [0065]) disposed in the green light emitting area; a blue color conversion layer (Fig. 3D, Element 104; ¶ [0076]) disposed in the blue light emitting area; and a scatterer layer disposed in the white light emitting area (¶ [0078]), wherein the scatterer layer is disposed to overlap the red color conversion layer, the green color conversion layer, and the blue color conversion layer (¶ [0078]).
Regarding independent claim 13, Jiao teaches a color converting panel comprising a substrate (Fig. 3D; lowermost layer); a plurality of banks (Fig. 5A, Element 17; ¶ [0091]) disposed on the substrate, where the banks partition a red light emitting area (Fig. 3D, Element 111; ¶ [0063]), a green light emitting area (Fig. 3D, Element 121; ¶ [0063]), a blue light emitting area (Fig. 3D, Element 131; ¶ [0063]), and a white light emitting area (Fig. 3D, Element 141; ¶ [0065]); a red color conversion layer (Fig. 3D, Element 103; ¶ [0065]) disposed in the red light emitting area; a green color conversion layer (Fig. 3D, Element 101; ¶ [0065]) disposed in the green light emitting area; a blue color conversion layer (Fig. 3D, Element 104; ¶ [0076]) disposed in the blue light emitting area; and a white color conversion layer disposed in the white light emitting area (¶ [0065]).
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.
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.
Claims 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jiao (US 2023/0003927) in view of Lee (US 2020/0119101).
Regarding claim 7, Jiao teaches the limitations of claim 4 discussed earlier but fails to exemplify a blue color conversion layer disposed in the blue light emitting area and the white light emitting area.
Lee teaches a color converting panel comprising a blue color conversion layer (Fig. 27, Element BL) disposed in a blue light emitting area (Fig. 27, Element 123) and a white light emitting area (Fig. 27, Element 124) for obtaining excellent efficiency (¶ [0092]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the color converting panel of Jiao with the structure taught by Lee for obtaining excellent efficiency.
Regarding claim 8, Lee teaches a green color conversion layer (Fig. 27, Element 124P2), a red color conversion layer (Fig. 27, Element 124P1), and the blue color conversion layer (BL) in the white light emitting area stacked one on another.
Regarding claim 9, Lee teaches the green color conversion layer (124P2), the red color conversion layer (124P1), and the blue color conversion layer (BL) in the white light emitting area sequentially arranged in a direction perpendicular to a thickness direction of a substrate.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kevin Quarterman whose telephone number is (571)272-2461. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 10am-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, James Greece can be reached at (571) 272-3711. 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.
/Kevin Quarterman/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875 5 February 2026