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
Receipt of the Amendment, filed on September 6, 2023, is acknowledged.
Claims 1-17 are pending in the instant application.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Okada et al. (US 2001/0049030 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Okada discloses a display device comprising: a first light-emitting element (Fig. 2D); a second light-emitting element (Fig. 2D) positioned to be adjacent to the first light-emitting element; a first protective layer (11); a second protective layer (11); and an insulating layer (15), wherein the first light-emitting element comprises a first pixel electrode (3), a first EL layer (5), and a common electrode (19), wherein the second light-emitting element comprises a second pixel electrode (3), a second EL layer (5), and the common electrode (19), wherein the first EL layer (5) is provided over the first pixel electrode (3), wherein the second EL layer (5) is provided over the second pixel electrode (3), wherein the first protective layer (11) comprises a region in contact with a side surface of the first EL layer (3), wherein the second protective layer (11) comprises a region in contact with a side surface of the second EL layer (3), wherein the insulating layer (15) is provided between the first protective layer (3) and the second protective layer (3), and wherein the common electrode (19) is provided over the first EL layer (5), over the second EL layer (5), over the first protective layer (11), over the second protective layer (11), and over the insulating layer (15).
Regarding claim 2, Okada discloses a display device wherein the insulating layer contains an organic material (¶[0052]).
Regarding claim 3, Okada discloses a display device wherein the insulating layer contains a photosensitive resin (¶[0052]).
Regarding claim 4, Okada discloses a display device wherein the first protective layer and the second protective layer each contain an inorganic material (¶s[0044,0049]).
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.
Claim(s) 6-7 and 10-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okada et al. (US 2001/0049030 A1).
Regarding claims 6-7, Okada discloses a display device comprising a region where a distance between the side surface of the first EL layer and the side surface of the second EL layer is less than or equal to 1 µm or, less than or equal to 100 nm. One of ordinary skills the art would have reasonably contemplate optimization of the distance between the side surface of the first layer and the side surface of the second EL layer within the claimed ranges in order to optimize the pixel density and improve the brightness of the display. It has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filling of the claimed invention to provide a distance between the side surface of the first EL layer and the side surface of the second EL layer is less than or equal to 1 µm or, less than or equal to 100 nm, since optimization of workable ranges is considered within the skill of the art.
Regarding claim 10, Okada discloses a display module comprising a display device but is silent as to comprising at least one of a connector and an integrated circuit. One skilled in the art would have reasonably contemplate providing a connector and an integrated circuit to control and power the OLED display pixels by delivering a stable current to each pixel, as an obvious matter of design engineering. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filling of the claimed invention to incorporate a connector and an integrated circuit in the display module of Okada in order to control and power the OLED display pixels by delivering a stable current to each pixel.
Regarding claim 11, Okada discloses an electronic device comprising the display module, but is silent as to comprising at least one of a housing, a battery, a camera, a speaker, and a microphone. One skilled in the art would have reasonably contemplate providing a housing for the display device in order to protect the electronic device from external impact and detrimental environment conditions, as an obvious matter of design engineering. Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of effective filling of the claimed invention to incorporate at least a housing in the electronic device of Okada in order to protect the electronic device from external impact and detrimental environment conditions.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12-17 are allowed over the prior art of record.
Claims 5, 8 and 9 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim(s) 5, the references of the Prior Art of record fails to teach or suggest the combination of the limitations as set forth in claim(s) 4, and specifically comprising the limitation of a common layer is provided between the common electrode and the first EL layer, the second EL layer, the first protective layer, the second protective layer, and the insulating layer, and wherein the common layer comprises at least one of a hole-injection layer, a hole-transport layer, a hole-blocking layer, an electron-blocking layer, an electron- transport layer, or an electron-injection layer in the first light-emitting element and the second light-emitting element.
Regarding claim(s) 8, the references of the Prior Art of record fails to teach or suggest the combination of the limitations as set forth in claim(s) 8, and specifically comprising the limitation the first light-emitting element comprises a third protective layer, wherein the second light-emitting element comprises a fourth protective layer, wherein the third protective layer comprises a region in contact with a side surface of the first pixel electrode, wherein the fourth protective layer comprises a region in contact with a side surface of the second pixel electrode, and wherein the insulating layer is provided between the third protective layer and the fourth protective layer.
Regarding claim(s) 9, claims(s) 9 is/are allowable for the reasons given in claim(s) 8 because of its/their dependency status from claim(s) 8.
Regarding claim(s) 12, the references of the Prior Art of record fails to teach or suggest the combination of the limitations as set forth in claim(s) 12, and specifically comprising the limitation of forming a second EL film and a second sacrificial film in this order over the first sacrificial layer and over the second pixel electrode; processing the second sacrificial film and the second EL film to form a second sacrificial layer and a second EL layer each of which comprises a region overlapping with the second pixel electrode; forming a second protective film covering at least a side surface of the second EL layer and a side surface and a top surface of the second sacrificial layer; processing the second protective film to form a second protective layer comprising a region in contact with at least the side surface of the second EL layer; forming an insulating film covering at least the top surface of the first sacrificial layer, the top surface of the second sacrificial layer, a side surface of the first protective layer, and a side surface of the second protective layer; processing the insulating film to form an insulating layer between the first protective layer and the second protective layer; removing the first sacrificial layer and the second sacrificial layer; and forming a common electrode over the first EL layer, over the second EL layer, over the first protective layer, over the second protective layer, and over the insulating layer.
Regarding claim(s) 13-17, claims(s) 13-17 is/are allowable for the reasons given in claim(s) 12 because of its/their dependency status from claim(s) 12.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Fukumoto et al. (JP 10-208883 A) discloses a light emitting device comprising a light emitting layer composed of an organic EL material by a hole transport material, an electron transport material and a light emitting material laminated between electrodes, light emitting layer is insulated with between adjacent light emitting layers.
Lim et al. (US 2021/0043705 A1) discloses a display device comprising a substrate, a first electrode provided in each of a first subpixel and a second subpixel arranged to be adjacent to the first subpixel, a trench provided between the first subpixel and the second subpixel, a light emitting layer provided in each of the first subpixel and the second subpixel on the first electrode, a second electrode provided in each of the first subpixel and the second subpixel on the light emitting layer, and a third electrode electrically connecting the second electrode with the second electrode.
The rejections above rely on the references for all the teachings expressed in the text of the references and/or one of ordinary skill in the art would have reasonably understood or implied from the texts of the references. To emphasize certain aspects of the prior art, only specific portions of the texts have been pointed out. Each reference as a whole should be reviewed in responding to the rejection, since other sections of the same reference and/or various combinations of the cited references may be relied on in future rejections in view of amendments.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mariceli Santiago whose telephone number is (571) 272-2464. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
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/Mariceli Santiago/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2879