DETAILED ACTION
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This Office Action is in response to the communications dated 07/06/2026.
Claims 1-5, and 7-17 are pending in this application.
Claim 6 has been cancelled.
Acknowledges
2. Receipt is acknowledged of the following items from the Applicant.
Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed on 04/17/2026. The references cited on the PTOL 1449 form have been considered.
Applicant is requested to cite any relevant prior art if being aware on form PTO-1449 in accordance with the guidelines set for in M.P.E.P. 609.
Remarks
3. Applicant's arguments have been fully considered, but are moot in view of a new ground of rejection. See details below.
Claim Rejections - 35 U.S.C. § 103
4. 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 of this title, 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.
5. Claims 1-5, and 14-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jang et al. (US 2021/0257419) in view of YAN et al. (US 2023/0165094)
Regarding claim 1, Jang discloses an organic light emitting display apparatus, comprising:
a substrate 110 (see figs. 6-7) including a first display area DA2 (figs. 1-4) and a second display area DA1 or DA3 adjacent to the first display area DA2, the first display area DA2 including emission areas PA2 and transmissive areas TA;
a plurality of sub-pixels SRA2, SGA2, SBA2 disposed in the first display area DA2; and
a plurality of transistors TR (fig. 7) disposed on the substrate 110 and electrically connected to the plurality of sub-pixels,
wherein the plurality of sub-pixels SRA2, SGA2, SBA2 include a plurality of first sub-pixels disposed in the emission areas of the first display area DA2 and having a structure comprising a plurality of light emitting stacks EU1-EU3 (fig. 10, and paras. 0130-0134).
Jang fails to disclose:
The sub-pixels having a structure in which the plurality of light emitting stacks configured to emit light of different colors are stacked,
wherein the plurality of first sub-pixels have a structure in which a first anode, a first light emitting stack, a cathode, a second light emitting stack, and a second anode are stacked, and
wherein the plurality of transistors include a first transistor electrically connected to the first anode and a second transistor electrically connected to the second anode.
YAN discloses:
An organic light emitting display apparatus, as shown in fig. 2, comprising:
a plurality of sub-pixels 4 disposed in the first display area 100 (see Figs. 1-2, and para. 0108);
wherein the plurality of sub-pixels 4 include a plurality of first sub-pixels 41 disposed in the emission areas of the first display area and having a structure in which a plurality of light emitting stacks (comprising light emitting layers 412, 42, 44) configured to emit light of different colors are stacked (paras. 0112, 0113, 0124),
wherein the plurality of first sub-pixels 4 have a structure in which a first anode 411 (paras. 0133, 0200), a first light emitting stack 412, a cathode 413, a second light emitting stack 42, and a second anode 43 are stacked, and
wherein the plurality of transistors include a first transistor (middle transistor formed in driving backplane 2, Fig. 2) electrically connected to the first anode 411 and a second transistor (left transistor) electrically connected to the second anode 43.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skills in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the invention of Jang to have a plurality of sub-pixels, and plurality of transistors as those taught by YAN, in order to improve utilization of the display region, and to double the display resolution. See para. 0113 of YAN.
Regarding claim 2, Jang/YAN discloses the organic light emitting display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sub-pixels 4 further include a plurality of second sub-pixels 4 disposed in the emission areas of the first display area 100 and having a structure in which a single light emitting stack 4 is stacked. See figs. 1, 2 of YAN.
Regarding claim 3, Jang/YAN discloses the organic light emitting display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the plurality of first sub-pixels 4 and the plurality of second sub-pixels 4 are configured to emit light of different colors. See paras. 0112, 0124, 0130-0143 of YAN.
Regarding claim 4, Jang/YAN discloses the organic light emitting display apparatus of claim 2, wherein the plurality of first sub-pixels 4 have a structure in which the first light emitting stack 412 configured to emit red light and the second light emitting stack 42 configured to emit green light are stacked, and wherein the plurality of second sub-pixels include a third light emitting stack 441 configured to emit blue light. See Fig. 2, and para. 0112, 0128.
Regarding claim 5, Jang/YAN discloses the organic light emitting display apparatus of claim 4, wherein a pixel circuit (middle transistor) configured to drive the first light emitting stack and a pixel circuit (right transistor) configured to drive the second light emitting stack are different from each other. See Fig. 2 of YAN.
Regarding claim 14, Yang/YAN discloses the organic light emitting display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sub-pixels further include a third sub-pixel, a fourth sub-pixel, and a fifth sub-pixel disposed in the second display area DA1 or DA3 (Fig. 3, Fig. 5 of Jang) and configured to emit light of different colors, and each of the third sub-pixel, the fourth sub-pixel, and the fifth sub-pixel has a single light emission stack (see Fig. 6 of Jang).
Regarding claim 15, Yang/YAN discloses the organic light emitting display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a cathode disposed in the first display area is disposed only in the emission areas among the emission areas and the transmissive areas. See Fig. 2 of YAN.
Regarding claim 16, Jang/YAN discloses the organic light emitting display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
an optical electronic device 200/210/220 disposed below the substrate in the first display area DA2. See fig. 2 of Jang.
Regarding claim 17, Jang/YAN discloses the organic light emitting display apparatus of claim 1, wherein a number of sub-pixels PA2 per unit area in the first display area DA2 (fig. 4 of Jang) is less than a number of sub-pixels PA1 per unit area in the second display area DA1 (fig. 3 of Jang).
Allowable Subject Matter
6. Claims 7-13 are allowable.
See Office action of 03/05/2026 for reasons for allowance.
Conclusion
7. 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Dao H. Nguyen whose telephone number is (571)272-1791. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven Loke, can be reached on (571)272-1657. The fax numbers for all communication(s) is 571-273-8300.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding should be directed to the receptionist whose telephone number is (571)272-1633.
/Dao H Nguyen/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818
September 7, 2026
Prosecution Insights