DETAILED ACTION
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments in regard to the amended claim 1 filed 11/14/2025 have been fully considered but are not persuasive. Applicant asserts Xiong et al. (US 2016/0268354 A1; hereinafter “Xiong”, fails to teach the following:
“a maximum thickness of an entire portion of the functional layer located in a recessed region is greater than a maximum thickness of an entire portion of the functional layer located in a light-exiting region adjacent to the recessed region, or a maximum thickness of a portion of the at least one film layer in the functional layer located in a recessed region is greater than a maximum thickness of a portion of the at least one film layer in the functional layer located in a light-exiting region adjacent to the recessed region; and the maximum thickness is a maximum dimension of the functional layer or the at least one film layer in the functional layer in a direction perpendicular to the base substrate”.
The Examiner respectfully disagrees with this assertion. Applicant argues that the depth of the recess 24 D does not represent the thickness of the organic common layer 25. However, per the limitations of the claim the thickness of the functional layer is to be considered only in a direction perpendicular to the base substrate. Therefore since the organic layer travels along the side wall in a direction perpendicular to the substrate in the recess for the length of D this measurement shall also represent the thickness of the organic common layer 25 within the recess.
Further, the examiner notes in response to Applicant's argument that “the function of the recess 24 in Xiong is different from that of the recessed region in the present application, and thus cannot teach the recessed region in claim 1. Furthermore, the thickness of the organic light-emitting layer in the recess 24 in Xiong needs to be thin, which fails to teach the aforementioned feature of claim 1”, it has been held that a recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus satisfying the claimed structural limitations. Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ 2d 1647 (1987). As the structural limitation is met by the teachings of Xiong, the Examiner respectfully disagrees that Xiong fails to teach the limitations of amended claim 1.
Applicant’s arguments, with respect to claims 3 and 4 have been fully considered and are persuasive. The 35 U.S.C 112(b) rejection of claims 3-5 and 9-10 have been withdrawn.
The Examiner acknowledges the change of the title of the invention, the specification objection has been withdrawn.
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 1-2, 16-18, 23-24 and 29-30 and 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mo et al. (US 2020/0335572 A1; hereinafter “Mo”), and further in view of Hsu (CN110649173A) where US 2022/0069030 A1 is used as a translation, Kim et al. (US 2020/0127059 A1; hereinafter “Kim”) and Xiong et al. (US 2016/0268354 A1; hereinafter “Xiong”).
In regard to claim 1, Mo teaches a display substrate (a display substrate as shown in Fig. 1A) (Fig. 1A and paragraph 47), comprising:
a base substrate (a base substrate 100) (Fig. 2 and paragraph 47);
a plurality of functional elements (a functional layer 740 and an organic light-emitting layer 730) (Fig. 6 and paragraph 87), located on the base substrate, wherein the plurality of functional elements are configured to exit light (a light-emitting material of each organic light-emitting element is driven by the drive voltage ΔV to emit light) (paragraph 3), a functional element comprises a functional layer (a plurality of organic light-emitting layers 730 (700)) (Fig. 6 and paragraph 74), and the functional layer comprises at least one film layer (the plurality of organic light-emitting elements 700 formed to be a continuous film layer and the first electrode 720 comprise at least one film layer in the functional layer) (Fig. 6 and paragraph 74);
a pixel-defining pattern (a pixel defining layer 300) (Fig. 6 and paragraph 47), wherein the pixel-defining pattern comprises a plurality of openings and a defining portion surrounding the plurality of openings (the pixel defining layer 300 further includes patterning the pixel defining material layer located in the display region 110 to form a plurality of openings 301) (Fig. 1A, Fig. 6 and paragraph 115), and the functional layer is at least partially located in the plurality of openings (the plurality of organic light-emitting layers (700) are shown in the openings 301 in Fig. 6);
wherein the display substrate is distributed with a plurality of first regions and a plurality of second regions (a display region 110 and a peripheral region 120 surrounding the display region) (Fig. 1A and paragraph 6), the plurality of first regions respectively correspond to the plurality of openings (the pixel defining material layer located in the display region 110 is patterned to form a plurality of openings 301) (Fig. 6 and paragraph 25), at least part of the plurality of second regions are covered by the defining portion (the pixel defining layer is extended continuously from the display region to the peripheral region, and an edge of the pixel defining layer is in the peripheral region) (paragraph 48), at least one film layer in the functional layer is located in at least part of at least one of the plurality of first regions and located in at least part of at least one of the plurality of second regions (the organic light-emitting layer 730 is shown in both the display and the peripheral region in Fig. 6) (Fig. 6 and paragraph 87), the plurality of first regions are configured to exit light,
However, Mo doesn’t explicitly teach the plurality of second regions are provided with at least one light-shielding layer overlapping with the defining portion;
the plurality of functional elements comprise functional elements for exiting light of at least two colors, the functional elements for exiting light of at least two colors comprise a first color functional element configured to exit first color light and a second color functional element configured to exit second color light, and an area of a light-exiting region of the first color functional element is greater than an area of a light-exiting region of the second color functional element; and
the plurality of second regions comprise a plurality of recessed regions, the at least one film layer of the functional layer comprises a portion located in at least one recessed region and a portion located in a light-exiting region adjacent to the at least one recessed region, an area of the at least one recessed region is not greater than an area of the light-exiting region adjacent to the at least one recessed region, a height of a surface, closest to the base substrate, of the least one film layer located in the recessed region relative to the base substrate is a first height, a height of a surface, closest to the base substrate, of the least one film layer located in the light-exiting region adjacent to the recessed region relative to the base substrate is a second height, and the first height is not greater than the second height;
a maximum thickness of an entire portion of the functional layer located in a recessed region is greater than a maximum thickness of an entire portion of the functional layer located in a light-exiting region adjacent to the recessed region, or a maximum thickness of a portion of the at least one film layer in the functional layer located in a recessed region is greater than a maximum thickness of a portion of the at least one film layer in the functional layer located in a light-exiting region adjacent to the recessed region; and the maximum thickness is a maximum dimension of the functional layer or the at least one film layer in the functional layer in a direction perpendicular to the base substrate.
Hsu teaches a plurality of second regions are provided with at least one light-shielding layer (the black matrix 203) overlapping with a defining portion (the portions outside of the depression 123 function as the second region, and would have a black matrix 203 in the second region outside of the depressions 123) (Fig. 9, Fig 10 and paragraphs 80 and 82);
a plurality of functional elements comprise functional elements for exiting light of at least two colors (the plurality of elements for blue sub-pixels 123a and the red and green sub-pixels 123b) (Fig. 8 and paragraph 75), the functional elements for exiting light of at least two colors comprise a first color functional element configured to exit first color light and a second color functional element configured to exit second color light (a light-emitting layer 121 disposed in the first depression 123a is a light-emitting layer 121 capable of emitting blue light, light-emitting layers 121 disposed in the two second depressions 123b are a light-emitting layer 121 capable of emitting red light and a light-emitting layer 121 capable of emitting green light) (Fig. 9 and paragraph 75), and an area of a light-exiting region of the first color functional element is greater than an area of a light-exiting region of the second color functional element (an area of an orthogonal projection of the first depression 123a on the base 140 is greater than an area of an orthogonal projection of each second depression 123b on the base 140) (Fig. 9 and paragraph 76); and
the plurality of second regions comprise a plurality of recessed regions (contact holes 122 are in the region outside of the depressions 123 as shown in Fig. 9) (Fig. 9 and paragraph 62), an area of the at least one recessed region is not greater than an area of the light-exiting region adjacent to the at least one recessed region (the contact hole 122 is shown to be smaller than the surrounding depressions 123 in Fig. 9).
It would be obvious to one skilled in the art to combine the teachings of Mo with the teachings of Hsu to have the plurality of second regions are provided with at least one light-shielding layer overlapping with the defining portion since this prevents cross-color between sub-pixels of different colors as taught by Hsu (paragraph 85).
Further it would be obvious to combine the teachings of Mo with Hsu to have the plurality of functional elements comprise functional elements for exiting light of at least two colors, the functional elements for exiting light of at least two colors comprise a first color functional element configured to exit first color light and a second color functional element configured to exit second color light, and an area of a light-exiting region of the first color functional element is greater than an area of a light-exiting region of the second color functional element; an area of the at least one recessed region is not greater than an area of the light-exiting region adjacent to the at least one recessed region since this layout allows for a device with a larger color gamut and the attenuation speed of the blue sub-pixel 124 may be reduced, so that the service life of the blue sub-pixel 124 may be increased, thereby improving the color shift of the display panel as taught by Hsu (paragraph 79).
Kim teaches at least one film layer of a functional layer comprises a portion located in at least one recessed region and a portion located in a light-exiting region adjacent to the at least one recessed region (an organic light-emitting layer 262 is shown located in the emissive area EA and the hole H) (Fig. 5 and paragraph 64), a height of a surface, closest to the base substrate, of the least one film layer located in the recessed region relative to the base substrate is a first height (height of the organic light-emitting layer 262 in the hole H) (Fig. 5), a height of a surface, closest to the base substrate, of the least one film layer located in the light-exiting region adjacent to the recessed region relative to the base substrate is a second height (the height of the organic light-emitting layer 262 in the emission area EA) (Fig. 5), and the first height is not greater than the second height (the height of the organic light-emitting layer 262 in the emission area EA is shown to be greater than the height of the organic light-emitting layer 262 in the hole H in Fig. 5).
It would be obvious to one skilled in the art to combine the teachings of Mo with the teachings of Kim to have the plurality of second regions comprise a plurality of recessed regions, the at least one film layer of the functional layer comprises a portion located in at least one recessed region and a portion located in a light-exiting region adjacent to the at least one recessed region, a height of a surface, closest to the base substrate, of the least one film layer located in the recessed region relative to the base substrate is a first height, a height of a surface, closest to the base substrate, of the least one film layer located in the light-exiting region adjacent to the recessed region relative to the base substrate is a second height, and the first height is not greater than the second height since this layout prevents pixels adjacent from one another from being affected by the current leaked from one the pixels as taught by Kim (paragraph 72).
Xiong teaches a display substrate (a display panel as shown in Fig. 4) (Fig. 4 and paragraph 17), a maximum thickness of an entire portion of the functional layer located in a recessed region is greater than a maximum thickness of an entire portion of the functional layer located in a light-exiting region adjacent to the recessed region (the thickness of an organic common layer 25 represented by the depth D, is shown to be thicker than the portion of the organic common layer 25 of the pixel region 23 in the direction perpendicular to a substrate 21) (Fig. 4 and paragraphs 36 and 48), or a maximum thickness of a portion of the at least one film layer in the functional layer located in a recessed region is greater than a maximum thickness of a portion of the at least one film layer in the functional layer located in a light-exiting region adjacent to the recessed region; and the maximum thickness is a maximum dimension of the functional layer or the at least one film layer in the functional layer in a direction perpendicular to the base substrate (as shown in Fig. 4 the depth D is in the direction perpendicular to the substrate 21).
It would be obvious to one skilled in the art to combine the teachings of Mo with Xiong to have a maximum thickness of an entire portion of the functional layer located in a recessed region is greater than a maximum thickness of an entire portion of the functional layer located in a light-exiting region adjacent to the recessed region with the maximum thickness is a maximum dimension of the functional layer in a direction perpendicular to the base substrate since this allows for a device with the different color pixels to be separated and have reduced leakage current generated between adjacent pixels as taught by Xiong (paragraph 41).
In regard to claim 2, Mo teaches wherein the functional layer comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of electroluminescence material ( the light-emitting material of each organic light-emitting element is driven by the drive voltage ΔV to emit light and is therefore electroluminescent material) (paragraph 3), photoluminescence material, electrochromic material, electrowetting material, color filter material and optical medium material.
In regard to claim 16, Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong teach wherein thicknesses of two portions, of the at least one film layer on the base substrate, located in the recessed region and another region outside the recessed region are respectively a first sub- thickness and a second sub-thickness (the organic light-emitting layer 262 in the emission area EA and the hole H would have a first thickness and the organic light-emitting layer 262 in the hole would have a second thickness due to the organic light-emitting layer 262 being able to have a smaller thickness along the sidewall of the hole as taught by Kim) (Fig. 6 and paragraph 71); or
the at least one film layer on the base substrate comprises a portion located in the light-exiting region, and the at least one film layer does not overlap with at least part of the recessed region.
In regard to claim 17, Mo teaches wherein the functional element comprises a light-emitting element (a first electrode 710, and a second electrode 720 form the light-emitting element) (Fig. 6 and paragraphs 3 and 74), the functional layer comprises a light-emitting functional layer (the organic light-emitting layer 730) (Fig. 6 and paragraph 74), the light-emitting element comprises a first electrode, the light-emitting functional layer and a second electrode that are stacked sequentially (the first electrode 710, organic light-emitting layer 730, and second electrode 720 are shown stacked in Fig. 6), and the first electrode is located between the light-emitting functional layer and the base substrate (the first electrode 710 is shown between the organic light-emitting layer 730 and the base substrate 100) (Fig. 6 and paragraph 74); and
the at least one film layer comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of an insulating layer, the defining portion, and the first electrode (the first electrode comprises at least one film layer in the functional layer as stated above) (Fig. 6 and paragraph 74).
In regard to claim 18. Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong teach wherein a portion, located between light-exiting regions of adjacent functional elements exiting light of different colors, in the defining portion is a second defining portion (the accommodating layer 120 between different pixels constitute second defining portions as taught in Hsu) (Fig. 9 and paragraph 45), and a thickness of the at least one film layer in the recessed region is less than a thickness of the at least one film layer in a region where the second defining portion is located; or
the at least one film layer (an anode 130) is located in the region where the second defining portion is located (the anode is shown under the accommodating portion 120 in Hsu Fig. 10) (Fig. 10 and paragraph 51), and does not overlap with at least part of the recessed region (the anode does not overlap the contact hole 122 as shown in Hsu Fig. 10).
In regard to claim 23, Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong teach teaches wherein the functional element comprises a light-emitting element (a first electrode 710, and a second electrode 720 form the light-emitting element) (Mo, Fig. 6 and paragraphs 3 and 74), the functional layer comprises a light-emitting functional layer (the organic light-emitting layer 730) (Mo, Fig. 6 and paragraph 74), the light-emitting element comprises a first electrode, the light-emitting functional layer and a second electrode that are stacked sequentially (the first electrode 710, organic light-emitting layer 730, and second electrode 720 are shown stacked in Mo Fig. 6), and the first electrode is located between the light-emitting functional layer and the base substrate (the first electrode 710 is shown between the organic light-emitting layer 730 and the base substrate 100) (Mo, Fig. 6 and paragraph 74); and
a thickness of a portion of at least one film layer, on a side of the first electrode away from the base substrate, located in the recessed region is a third sub-thickness (the organic light-emitting layer 262 at the bottom of the hole H would have a thickness) (Kim Fig. 6 and paragraph 70), a thickness of at least portions of the at least one film layer, on the side of the first electrode away from the base substrate, located in another region outside the recessed region is a fourth sub-thickness (the organic light-emitting layer 262 in the EA would have a thickness) (Kim Fig. 6 and paragraph 70), and the third sub-thickness is not less than the fourth sub-thickness (the thicknesses of the organic layer 262 within the emission area and at the bottom of the hole H would be the same due to the organic layer 262 only being thinner on the side wall of the hole as taught in Kim) (Kim, Fig. 6 and paragraphs 70-71).
In regard to claim 24, Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong teach wherein the at least one film layer on the side of the first electrode away from the base substrate comprises at least one of an organic layer and the functional layer (the one film layer is mapped to be the organic light-emitting layer 730 as shown in Mo Fig. 6) (Mo Fig. 6 and paragraph 74).
In regard to claim 29, Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong teach wherein maximum thicknesses of two portions, of the at least one film layer of the functional layer, located in the recessed region and located in a light-exiting region of a functional element corresponding to the recessed region are respectively a first maximum thickness and a second maximum thickness (the organic layer 262 in the hole at the bottom and along the side walls constitute the first and second maximum thicknesses respectively) (Kim, Fig. 6 and paragraph 72), and the first maximum thickness is not less than the second maximum thickness (a thickness of the organic light-emitting layer 262 on the sidewall of the hole H is set thinner than that of the organic light-emitting layer 262 on the floor of the hole) (Kim, Fig. 6 and paragraph 72); or
a maximum thickness of an entire portion, of the functional layer, located in the recessed region is not less than a maximum thickness of an entire portion, of the functional layer, located in a light-exiting region of a functional element corresponding to the recessed region.
In regard to claim 30, Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong teach wherein a distance between a surface, of a portion of the at least one film layer of the functional layer located in the recessed region, away from the base substrate and the base substrate is a third distance (the distance from portion of the organic light-emitting layer 262 in the hole to a first substrate 111 as shown in Kim Fig. 5) (Kim Fig. 5 and paragraphs 52 and 70),
a distance between a surface, of a portion of the at least one film layer of the functional layer located in a light-exiting region of a functional element corresponding to the recessed region (the distance from portion of the organic light-emitting layer 262 in the Emission area EA to a first substrate 111 as shown in Kim Fig. 5), away from the base substrate and the base substrate is a fourth distance, and
the fourth distance is greater than the third distance (the distance from portion of the organic light-emitting layer 262 in the Emission area EA to a first substrate 111 is shown to be farther than the distance from portion of the organic light-emitting layer 262 in the hole to a first substrate 111 as shown in Kim Fig. 5).
In regard to claim 35, Mo teaches a display device (paragraph 89), comprising the display substrate according to claim 1.
Claims 3 and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong as taught in Fig. 4 as applied to claim 1 or 30, and further in view of Xiong as taught in Fig. 6 and Kim et al. (US 2017/0125738 A1; hereinafter “Kim738”).
In regard to claim 3, Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong the plurality of recessed regions at least comprise a first recessed region and a second recessed region (first and second recess regions 1R and 2R are shown in annotated Fig. 4 of Xiong below), the functional layer in the first recessed region comprises the same material as the functional layer in a first color functional element (the organic common layer 25 and an organic light-emitting layer 253 disposed between the hole transport layer 251 and the electron transport layer 252 of one of the red, blue or green pixel regions R, B or G, functions as the first color element, and the organic common layer 25 is shown in the first recess in annotated Fig. 4 of Xiong) (Fig. 4 and paragraphs 38), the functional layer in the second recessed region comprises the same material as the functional layer in a second color functional element (the organic common layer 25 and an organic light-emitting layer 253 disposed between the hole transport layer 251 and the electron transport layer 252 of another one of the red, blue or green pixel regions R, B or G adjacent to the first pixel region functions as the second color element, and the organic common layer 25 is shown in the first recess in annotated Fig. 4 of Xiong) (Fig.4, Fig. 8A and paragraphs 38 and 50).
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However, Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong as taught in Fig. 4 don’t explicitly teach a distance between a center of the light-exiting region of the first color functional element and a center of the first recessed region corresponding to the first color functional element is a first distance, a distance between a center of the light-exiting region of the second color functional element and a center of the second recessed region corresponding to the second color functional element is a second distance, and the first distance is not equal to the second distance, a thickness of a portion of the defining portion located in the recessed region is greater than a thickness of a portion of the defining portion located in another region except the recessed region and the light-exiting region.
However, Xiong as taught in Fig. 6 teaches a display substrate (a display panel as shown in Fig. 6) (Fig. 6 and paragraph 19), wherein a distance between a center of the light-exiting region of the second color functional element and a center of the second recessed region corresponding to the second color functional element is a second distance (the distance is annotated as D2 in annotated Fig. 6 below), and the first distance is not equal to the second distance (the distances are not equal due to the first recess region being further away from its respective functional color element and the second recess region closer to its respective functional color elements as shown in annotated Fig. 6 below).
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It would be obvious to someone skilled in the art to combine the teachings of Mo in view of Hsu and Kim with the teachings of Xiong to a distance between a center of the light-exiting region of the first color functional element and a center of the first recessed region corresponding to the first color functional element is a first distance, a distance between a center of the light-exiting region of the second color functional element and a center of the second recessed region corresponding to the second color functional element is a second distance, and the first distance is not equal to the second distance since this layout allows for the device with the different color pixels separated and reduced leakage current generated between adjacent pixels as taught by Xiong (paragraph 41).
Kim738 teaches a display substrate (an organic light emitting diode display device) (Fig. 3 and paragraph 19), wherein a thickness of a portion of a defining portion (a bank pattern 150) located in a recessed region (area containing depressions 117) is greater than a thickness of a portion of the defining portion located in another region except the recessed region and the light-exiting region (as shown in Fig. 3 the bank patterns 150 have a greater thickness in the depressions 117 than in other portions of the non-emission area NEA) (Fig. 3 and paragraphs 67).
It would be obvious to one skilled in the art to combine the teachings of Mo in view of Hsu, Kim, and Xiong with the teachings of Kim738 to have a thickness of a portion of the defining portion located in the recessed region greater than a thickness of a portion of the defining portion located in another region except the recessed region and the light-exiting region since this prevents light emitted from the organic light emitting element EL from reaching a different adjacent sub-pixel and being extracted as a light leakage component as taught by Kim738 (paragraph 87).
In regard to claim 9, Mo in view of Hsu, Kim, Xiong and Kim738 teach wherein the first color functional element is a functional element that emits blue light (the organic common layer 25 and an organic light-emitting layer 253 disposed between the hole transport layer 251 and the electron transport layer 252 can belong to a blue pixel region) (Xiong Fig. 8A and paragraph 50), and the second color functional element is a functional element that emits green light or a functional element that emits red light (the organic common layer 25 and an organic light-emitting layer 253 disposed between the hole transport layer 251 and the electron transport layer 252 can belong to a red or green pixel region) (Fig. 8A and paragraph 50); and the first distance is greater than the second distance (the first distance D1 is greater than the second distance D2 in annotated Xiong Fig. 6 above).
In regard to claim 10, Mo in view of Hsu, Kim, Xiong and Kim738 wherein the first color functional element is a functional element that emits red light (the organic common layer 25 and an organic light-emitting layer 253 disposed between the hole transport layer 251 and the electron transport layer 252 can belong to a blue pixel region) (Fig. 8A and paragraph 50), the second color functional element is a functional element that emits green light (the organic common layer 25 and an organic light-emitting layer 253 disposed between the hole transport layer 251 and the electron transport layer 252 can belong to a green pixel region) (Fig. 8A and paragraph 50), and the first distance is greater than the second distance (the first distance D1 is greater than the second distance D2 in annotated Fig. 6 above); or the first color functional element is a functional element that emits green light, the second color functional element is a functional element that emits red light, and the first distance is greater than the second distance.
Claims 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Zhao (US 2020/0044169 A1).
In regard to claim 4, Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong teach wherein the first color functional element comprises a plurality of first color functional elements, and the second color functional element comprises a plurality of second color functional elements (the plurality of elements for blue sub-pixels 123a and the red and green sub-pixels 123b are shown in Hsu Fig. 9);
a portion located between light-exiting regions of adjacent functional elements exiting light of a same color (a portion between the blue sub-pixel 124 in the vertical direction as shown in Fig. 9), in the defining portion is a first defining portion (the accommodating layer 120 between the blue sub-pixels in a vertical direction functions as a first defining portion) (Hsu, Fig. 9 and paragraph 45).
However, Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong don’t explicitly teach and a distance between a center of the recessed region, located between the light-exiting regions of adjacent functional elements exiting light of a same color, and a center of the first defining portion is in a range of 5- 40 microns.
Zhao teaches a display substrate (an OLED substrate) (Fig. 1 and paragraph 25), wherein a distance between a center of a recessed region (a gap between each of the pillars 230) (Fig. 2(c), Fig. 3 and paragraph 50), located between a light-exiting regions of adjacent functional elements exiting light of a same color (the Examiner takes official notice that there would be pixels of the same color containing the ink 10 within the OLED device that would be separated by the second sub-defining layer 220 due to the device preventing pixel regions from mixing) (Fig. 2(c), Fig. 3 and paragraphs 49-50), and a center of a first defining portion is in a range of 5- 40 microns (the gap is 2 μm to 10 μm and the width of the second sub-defining layer 220 is 4 μm therefore the center to center distance mat be 3 μm to 7 μm) (Fig. 2(c), Fig. 3 and paragraph 54).
It would be obvious to one skilled in the art to combine the teachings of Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong with the teachings of Zhao to have a distance between a center of the recessed region, located between the light-exiting regions of adjacent functional elements exiting light of a same color, and a center of the first defining portion is in a range of 5- 40 microns since this allows for manufacturing the light-emitting layer with good film thickness uniformity and high quality film formation, thereby significantly improving the display effect of the OLED display device including the OLED substrate as taught by Zhao (paragraph 54).
In regard to claim 5, Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Zhao teaches wherein at least two recessed regions are provided between the light-exiting regions of adjacent functional elements exiting light with the same color (a contact hole CT2 and the hole H are provided between two red emissive areas RE in the vertical direction as shown in Fig. 4) (Kim, Fig. 4, Fig. 5 and paragraph 64), and the at least two recessed regions are located on at least one side of the center of the first defining portion (the contact hole CT2 and the hole H are shown on the same side in the vertical direction as seen in Kim, Fig. 4).
Claims 6 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Hsu as taught in Fig. 8.
In regard to claim 6, Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong don’t explicitly teach wherein at least two adjacent functional elements arranged along a first direction exit light of a same color, at least two adjacent functional elements arranged along a second direction exit light of different colors, and the first direction intersects with the second direction.
Hsu as taught in Fig. 8 teaches, wherein at least two adjacent functional elements arranged along a first direction exit light of a same color (light-emitting layers 121 disposed in two depressions 123 in the vertical direction are light-emitting layers capable of emitting blue light in the blue sub pixel 124) (Fig. 8 and paragraph 67), at least two adjacent functional elements arranged along a second direction exit light of different colors (light-emitting layers 121 disposed in two depressions 123 in the lateral direction are light-emitting layers capable of emitting blue light and redlight in the blue sub pixel 124 and red sub pixel 126) (Fig. 8 and paragraph 67), and the first direction intersects with the second direction (the vertical and lateral directions are known to intersect).
It would be obvious to one skilled in the art to combine the teachings of Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong with the teachings of Hsu as shown in Fig. 8 to have the at least two adjacent functional elements arranged along a first direction exit light of a same color, at least two adjacent functional elements arranged along a second direction exit light of different colors, and the first direction intersects with the second direction since this improves the attenuation speed of the sub-pixels as taught by Hsu (paragraph 70).
In regard to claim 12, Mo in view of Hsu as shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 and Kim teach, herein an orthographic projection of at least one light-exiting region on a straight line extending in the second direction overlaps with an orthographic projection of a recessed region corresponding to the at least one light-exiting region on the straight line extending in the second direction (overlap of the orthographic projections of the emissive areas RE, GE, BE, and WE of the pixels with the hole H in the lateral direction is shown in Kim Fig. 4).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mo in view of Hsu as shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9, Kim and Xiong as applied to claim 12, and further in view of Tanaka et al. (JP 2008135325 A; hereinafter “Tanaka”)
In regard to claim 13, Mo in view of Hsu as shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 and Kim don’t explicitly teach wherein a virtual straight line parallel to the first direction passes through a light-exiting region and a recessed region closest to the light-exiting region, edges close to each other of the light-exiting region and the recessed region intersect with the virtual straight line to form two intersection points, and a distance between the two intersection points is greater than a distance between an orthographic projection of the light-exiting region on a straight line extending in the first direction and an orthographic projection of the recessed region on the straight line extending in the first direction.
Tanaka teaches a display substrate (the organic EL display device) (Fig. 3 and paragraph 26), wherein a virtual straight line (a virtual line VL as shown in annotated Fig. 3 below) parallel to a first direction (a vertical direction) passes through a light-exiting region (the region containing a pixel electrode 2 between the banks 3) and a recessed region closest to the light-exiting region (a through hole 7 in between the banks as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4) (Fig. 3, Fig. 4, and paragraph 36), edges close to each other of the light-exiting region and the recessed region intersect with the virtual straight line to form two intersection points (the bottom edge of the pixel electrode 2 annotated as IP1 and side edge of the through hole 7 annotated as IP2 in Fig. 3 below), and a distance between the two intersection points is greater than a distance between an orthographic projection of the light-exiting region on a straight line extending in the first direction and an orthographic projection of the recessed region on the straight line extending in the first direction (as shown in annotated Fig. 3, the distance between the bottom edge of the pixel electrode and the top edge of the hole labeled as EP is closer than the portions of the pixel electrode 2 and the hole 7 that intersect with the virtual line VL annotated as IP1 and IP2 due to the shape of the hole).
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It would be obvious to one skilled in the art to combine the teachings of Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong with the teachings of Tanaka to have a virtual straight line parallel to the first direction passes through a light-exiting region and a recessed region closest to the light-exiting region, edges close to each other of the light-exiting region and the recessed region intersect with the virtual straight line to form two intersection points, and a distance between the two intersection points is greater than a distance between an orthographic projection of the light-exiting region on a straight line extending in the first direction and an orthographic projection of the recessed region on the straight line extending in the first direction, since this layout aids in the manufacture of a device that has a high aperture ratio (paragraph 25).
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong as applied to claim 1, and further in view of Heo et al. (US 2019/0103450 A1; hereinafter “Heo”)
In regard to claim 14, Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong don’t explicitly teach wherein a nearest distance between at least two adjacent recessed regions is less than a distance from one recessed region of the at least two adjacent recessed regions to a light-exiting region close to the one recessed region.
Heo teaches a display substrate (organic light-emitting diode display device) (Fig. 6 and paragraph 25), wherein a nearest distance between at least two adjacent recessed regions (distance between two bank grooves BG) is less than a distance from one recessed region of the at least two adjacent recessed regions to a light-exiting region close to the one recessed region (the distance between two bank grooves BG is shown closer than the distance between a bank groove BG and the opening above the first electrode ANO created as a light-emitting area as shown in Fig. 6(b) below) (Fig. 6(b) and paragraph 66-68).
It would be obvious to one skilled in the to combine the teachings of Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong with the teachings of Heo to have a nearest distance between at least two adjacent recessed regions is less than a distance from one recessed region of the at least two adjacent recessed regions to a light-exiting region close to the one recessed region since this layout aids in effectively blocking the leakage current from adjacent pixels as taught by Heo (paragraph 68).
Claims 31 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong as taught in Fig. 4 as applied to 30, and further in view of Xiong as taught in Fig. 6.
In regard to claim 31, Mo in view of Hsu, Kim and Xiong as described don’t explicitly teach wherein a portion, located between light-exiting regions of adjacent functional elements exiting light of different colors, in the defining portion is a second defining portion, and an extending direction of at least part of the second defining portion is identical to an arrangement direction of the adjacent functional elements exiting light of different colors; and a surface of a side, of a portion of the second defining portion close to the light-exiting region, away from the base substrate comprises a defining slope, a distance between a surface, of a portion of the at least one film layer of the functional layer located at the defining slope, away from the base substrate and the base substrate is a fifth distance, and the fifth distance is greater than the fourth distance.
Xiong teaches a display substrate (a display panel as shown in Fig. 6) (Fig. 6 and paragraph 19), wherein a portion, located between light-exiting regions of adjacent functional elements exiting light of different colors, in a defining portion is a second defining portion (the recesses 24 are provided in the pixel definition layer between pixel regions 23 of different colors) (Fig. 6, Fig. 8 A and paragraph 50), and an extending direction of at least part of the second defining portion is identical to an arrangement direction of the adjacent functional elements exiting light of different colors (the recesses 24 are shown in between the adjacent red, green and blue pixel regions R, G, B in Fig. 8A); and
a surface of a side, of a portion of the second defining portion close to the light-exiting region, away from the base substrate comprises a defining slope (the side surface of the pixel definition layer between pixel regions 23 has a slope as shown in Fig. 6), a distance between a surface, of a portion of at least one film layer of a functional layer located at the defining slope (an organic common layer 25 which functions as the functional layer of the at least one film layer is shown on the sloped portion of the pixel defining layer close to the pixel region 23) (Fig. 6 and paragraph 36), away from a base substrate (a substrate 21) and the base substrate is a fifth distance (the portion of the slope that has the depth D as shown in Fig. 6) (Fig. 6 and paragraph 48), and the fifth distance is greater than a fourth distance (the portion of the slope close to the pixel region 23 is shown further away from the substrate 21 than a portion of the organic common layer 35 within the pixel region) (Fig. 6 and paragraphs 38 and 48).
It would be obvious to one skilled in the art to combine the teachings of Mo in view of Hsu and Kim with the teachings of Xiong to have a portion, located between light-exiting regions of adjacent functional elements exiting light of different colors, and an extending direction of at least part of the second defining portion is identical to an arrangement direction of the adjacent functional elements exiting light of different colors; and a surface of a side, of a portion of the second defining portion close to the light-exiting region, away from the base substrate comprises a defining slope, with a distance between a surface, of a portion of the at least one film layer of the functional layer located at the defining slope, away from the base substrate and the base substrate is a fifth distance, and the fifth distance is greater than the fourth distance since this layout allows for the device with the different color pixels separated and reduced leakage current generated between adjacent pixels as taught by Xiong (paragraph 41).
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.
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/SEYON ALI-SIMAH PUNCHBEDDELL/ Examiner, Art Unit 2893
/SUE A PURVIS/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2893