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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Specifically, in claim 15, at line 8, the phrase “a second reflective via structure” is unclear because it suggests a first reflective via structure; however, claim 15 depends from claim 1, which does not recite a first reflective via structure.
Claims 16-17 are rejected based on their dependence from claim 15.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 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.
Claim(s) 1 and 13-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Shi et al. (US 2016/0035807).
Regarding claim 1, Shi discloses an organic light-emitting diode display device (Figs. 3-4), comprising a first light-emitting layer located in a first sub-pixel region (12; Paragraph [0040]); a first anode disposed under the first light-emitting layer in a vertical direction and located in the first sub-pixel region (10; Paragraph [0040]); a first reflective pattern disposed under the first anode in the vertical direction and located in the first sub-pixel region (17; Paragraph [0040]); and a dielectric material partly disposed between the first anode and the first reflective pattern (9; Paragraph [0040]), wherein the first reflective pattern is electrically connected with the first anode (Figs. 3, 10 & 7 & 17).
Regarding claim 13, Shi further discloses wherein the first anode comprises a transparent electrically conductive material (Paragraph [0027]).
Regarding claim 14, Shi further discloses wherein the first reflective pattern comprises an electrically conductive metallic material (Paragraph [0027]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-12 and 18-20 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.
Specifically, in claim 2, the requirement that a first reflective via structure disposed between the first anode and the first reflective pattern, wherein the first reflective pattern is electrically connected with the first anode through the first reflective via structure is neither taught nor disclosed by the prior art of record.
Claims 3-13 are objected to based on their dependence from claim 2.
Specifically, in claim 18, the requirement that a device substrate, wherein the first reflective pattern, the first anode, and the first light-emitting layer are disposed on the device substrate, the first reflective pattern is located between the first anode and the device substrate, and the first reflective pattern is electrically connected with the device substrate is neither taught nor disclosed by the prior art of record.
Claims 19-20 are objected to based on their dependence from claim 18.
Other Prior Art Cited
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Uchida et al. (US 10,826,021) and Zhang et al. (US 2020/0020753) teach display devices with anode and reflective layer structures, but fail to teach the structures required by claims 2 and 18.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANNE M HINES whose telephone number is (571)272-2285. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 8:00-4:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James Greece, can be reached on 571-272-3711. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Anne M Hines/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2879