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 .
STATUS OF CLAIMS
Claims 1-20 pending in the application, claims 18-20 are withdrawn from consideration.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in this application on 3 July 2023.
Election/Restrictions
Applicants' election without traverse of claims 1-17 in the reply filed on 21 November 2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 18-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 21 November 2025.
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 1-8, 16, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 2022/0013725 A1) in view of Nishi (US 11,313,024 B2).
Regarding Claim 1: Lee discloses a mask (ref. "MS") including a body unit (ref. "BM") and a protrusion unit (ref. "PM"), wherein deposition openings (ref. "M-OP") penetrate through the front surface (ref. "M-U") and the rear surface (ref. "M-B") of the mask, wherein the PM can protrude along one direction from a corner of the BM, the PM provided in plural, the PM can include a first part (ref. "P1”), a second part (ref. "P2”), and a third part (ref. "P3”), which protrude from a corner (ref. "EG") (figures 2A, 3, [0069]-[0071], and [0075] of Lee). Lee also discloses that a base substrate (ref. "BS") to be deposited on the M-B of the MS, wherein a first thickness (ref. "TH1") of the BM is greater in a third direction (ref. "DR3") that a second thickness (ref. "TH2") of the PM (figure 7 and [0080] of Lee). Specifically, Lee provides for --a mask comprising: a base sheet including: a first surface on which a target substrate is seated; a second surface that faces the first surface; and an inside surface portion that defines an opening formed through the first surface and the second surface; and the at least one protrusion is not provided extending from a non-selected inside surface of the inside surface portion in a second region of the base sheet--. (In the instant case, the portion of the rounded corners of the opening not having the protrusion as well as the sides of the openings without the protrusions are considered to define the claimed "non-selected inside surface" and "second region".)
Lee fails to disclose --at least one protrusion that extends from a selected inside surface of the inside surface portion toward the opening, in a first region of the base sheet, wherein the at least one protrusion includes a stepped surface, a gap between the stepped surface and the target substrate is greater than a gap between the first surface and the target substrate--.
Nishi discloses a vapor deposition metal mask (ref. #30) including a mask member (ref. #32), the mask member including a plurality of mask holes (ref. "32H") in a grid pattern, wherein the mask includes a mask region (ref. #32M) that includes an obverse surface (ref. #32F) including large openings (ref. #32H1) of the mask holes, and a reverse surface (ref. #32R) that is reverse from the obverse surface, the reverse surface including small openings (ref. #32H2) of the mask holes, wherein each mask hole includes a large hole (ref. 32HB), a small hole (ref. #32HS), and a connection portion (ref. #32HC) at which the large hole is connected to the small hole (figures 3 to 6, 8, [Col. 6: li. 8-37], [Col. 7: li. 40-48], [Col. 8: li. 14-34] of Nishi). Nishi also discloses that the large hole narrows towards the small hole, and the small hole narrows to the large hole (figures 3 to 6, 8, and [Col. 8: li. 27-34] of Nishi). Nishi further discloses that the connection portion protrudes inward along the entire circumference of the mask hole, and includes a first section and a second section, wherein in a fifth region (ref. "ER5") a first step height is zero, and a second step height is greater than the first step height (figures 1, 2, 6, 8, [Col. 6: li. 34 to Col. 7: li. 12], and [Col. 10: li. 4-17] of Nishi).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have combined the mask of Nishi with the mask disclosed by Lee in order to have --at least one protrusion that extends from a selected inside surface of the inside surface portion toward the opening, in a first region of the base sheet, wherein the at least one protrusion includes a stepped surface, a gap between the stepped surface and the target substrate is greater than a gap between the first surface and the target substrate--. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have combined the mask of Nishi with the mask disclosed by Lee, from the stand-point of improving the uniformity of the film thickness of the vapor deposition pattern formed in each mask hole in the vapor deposition mask ([Col. 13: li. 48 to Col. 14: li. 44] of Nishi). (In the instant case, combination of Nishi with Lee would result in at least one of the corner projections having a surface in abutment with a target substrate gradually having a stepped profile as disclosed by Nishi (figure 6 and [Col. 10: li. 4-17] of Nishi); which would result in --a gap between the stepped surface ant eh target substrate being greater than a gap between the first surface and the target surface--.)
Regarding Claim 2: Lee in view of Nishi discloses that at least one protrusion includes first and second boundary surfaces adjacent to the second region and that extend from the inside surface (figures 2A and 3 of Lee). (In the instant case, the exposed sides of P1 and P3 facing away from P2 (see figure 5 of Lee), and the top surface of P1, P2, and P3 (see figure 3 of Lee) are considered equivalent to the claimed "first and second boundary surfaces".)
Regarding Claim 3: Lee in view of Nishi discloses that the first and second boundary surfaces include different shapes (figures 3 and 5 of Lee).
Regarding Claim 4: Lee in view of Nishi discloses the at least one protrusion includes a plurality of protrusions, and a plurality of boundary surfaces corresponding to the plurality of protrusions are provided (figures 2A and 3 of Lee).
Regarding Claim 5: Lee in view of Nishi discloses that the inside surface portion includes first to fourth corner portions, and at least one of the first and second boundary surfaces is located on at least one of the first to fourth corner portions (figures 2A and 3 of Lee).
Regarding Claim 6: Lee in view of Nishi discloses that the first to fourth corner portions include a curvature (figures 2A and 3 of Lee).
Regarding Claim 7: Lee in view of Nishi discloses that the at least one protrusion protrudes from at least one of the first to fourth corner portions (figures 2A and 3 of Lee).
Regarding Claim 8: Lee in view of Nishi discloses that at least one of the first to fourth corner portions is included in the second region (figure 2A and 3 to 5 of Lee).
Regarding Claim 16: Lee in view of Nishi discloses that the inside surface portion includes: a vertical surface physically connected to the first surface in the second region and perpendicular to the first surface; and an inclined surface that physically connects the vertical surface and the second surface and inclined in a direction away from the opening (figures 3, 6, and 7 of Lee).
Regarding Claim 17: Lee in view of Nishi discloses that the opening is provided in plural, each including a same planar shape (figure 2A and [0009] of Lee).
Claims 9-11 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 2022/0013725 A1) in view of Nishi (US 11,313,024 B2) as applied to claims 1 and 2 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (US 2022/0187700 A1).
Lee in view of Nishi is relied upon as described above.
Regarding Claim 9: Lee in view of Nishi discloses that the inside surface portion includes: a first inside surface; a second inside surface; a third inside surface; and a fourth inside surface (figure 2A of Lee). However, Lee in view of Nishi failed to disclose --the first and third inside surfaces are parallel to a first direction, and the second and fourth inside surfaces are parallel to a second direction intersecting the first direction--. (In the instant case, the opening of Lee visually appears to be a rectangle with rounded corners, but it is not explicitly recited to be so.)
Kim discloses a deposition mask (ref. #1000) comprising a first pattern portion (ref. #210) passing through the body portion (ref. #100) of the deposition mask, wherein the first pattern portion can be a rectangular shape, a circular shape, or a rectangular shape with rounded corners ([0043] and [0047] of Kim).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have combined the shaped opening with a rectangular shape with rounded corners of Kim with the opening of the mask disclosed by Lee in view of Nishi in order to have the first and third inside surfaces are parallel to a first direction, and the second and fourth inside surfaces are parallel to a second direction intersecting the first direction--. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have combined the opening with a rectangular shape with rounded corners of Kim with the opening of the mask disclosed by Lee in view of Nishi, since such a modification would have involved a mere change in the shape of the opening. A change in shape is generally recognized as being within the level of ordinary skill in the art. See MPEP §2144.04(IV)(B). (In the instant case, Kim discloses that the opening of Lee in view of Nishi can be a rectangular opening with rounded corners, which would amount to the first and third inside surfaces being parallel to a first direction, and the second and fourth inside surfaces being parallel to a second direction intersecting the first direction as claimed.)
Regarding Claim 10: Lee in view of Nishi and Kim discloses that the first inside surface is spaced apart from the third inside surface in the second direction, and the at least one protrusion protrudes from the first inside surface or the third inside surface (figure 2A and 3 of Lee).
Regarding Claim 11: Lee in view of Nishi and Kim disclose that the at least one protrusion is integrally formed without protruding and separating from the adjacent second or fourth inside surface (figures 2A, 3, and [0078] of Lee).
Regarding Claim 13: Lee in view of Nishi and Kim discloses that the at least one protrusion includes a plurality of protrusions, the second inside surface is spaced apart from the fourth inside surface in the first direction, and the plurality of projections protrude from the second inside surface and the fourth inside surface, respectively (figure 2A of Lee).
Regarding Claim 14: Lee in view of Nishi and Kim discloses that the plurality of protrusions protrude from a portion of the second inside surface and a portion of the fourth inside surface corresponding to the portion of the second inside surface, respectively (figure 2A of Lee). (In the instant case, the limitation recites --a portion of the fourth inside surface corresponding to the portion of the second inside surface-- in lines 2 to 3, wherein "corresponding" has been considered by the examiner to have the ordinary meaning of 'being directly across from (i.e., a mirrored position with respect to the second direction )".)
Regarding Claim 15: Lee in view of Nishi and Kim discloses that at least one of the first and second boundary surfaces is adjacent to at least one of the first to fourth inside surfaces (figure 2A of Lee).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 12 is 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:
With regards to the closest prior art of record Lee et al. (US 2022/0013725 A1): Lee teaches --a mask--, wherein Lee's mask further comprises the structure --a mask (ref. "MS") including a body unit (ref. "BM") and a protrusion unit (ref. "PM"), wherein deposition openings (ref. "M-OP") penetrate through the front surface (ref. "M-U") and the rear surface (ref. "M-B") of the mask, wherein the PM can protrude along one direction from a corner of the BM, the PM provided in plural, the PM can include a first part (ref. "P1”), a second part (ref. "P2”), and a third part (ref. "P3”), which protrude from a corner (ref. "EG"); and a base substrate (ref. "BS") to be deposited on the M-B of the MS, wherein a first thickness (ref. "TH1") of the BM is greater in a third direction (ref. "DR3") that a second thickness (ref. "TH2") of the PM-- (figures 2A, 3, 7, [0069]-[0071], [0075], and [0080] of Lee). However, Lee does not teach that --at least one protrusion that extends from a selected inside surface of the inside surface portion toward the opening, in a first region of the base sheet, wherein the at least one protrusion includes a stepped surface, a gap between the stepped surface and the target substrate is greater than a gap between the first surface and the target substrate; the first and third inside surfaces are parallel to a first direction, and the second and fourth inside surfaces are parallel to a second direction intersecting the first direction -- along with --the at least one protrusion being integrally formed without protruding and separating from a portion of the adjacent second inside surface and a portion of the adjacent fourth inside surface-- {instant claim 12}. Therefore, the claims as written overcome the prior art of record. Furthermore, no combination of Lee with any other prior art of record would have provided sufficient motivation for a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to have modified Lee in such a way as to meet the claimed invention. It is these teachings that makes the claim(s) allowable over the prior art of record.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Donald M. Flores, Jr. whose telephone number is (571) 270-1466. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30 to 17:00 M-F; Alternate Fridays off.
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/DONALD M FLORES JR/
Donald M. Flores, Jr.Examiner, Art Unit 1781