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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claims 1, 3-6, 13, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Min (US 2023/0080648).
Regarding independent claim 1, Min (‘648) teaches in figures 1, 2, and the corresponding text, a display apparatus (100) comprising: a substrate (10) including a display area (MM) and a peripheral area (NN) around the display area; a display element (20) disposed on the substrate in the display area; and a thin-film encapsulation layer (30) covering the display element, wherein the thin-film encapsulation layer includes a first inorganic encapsulation layer (31-NN) and a second inorganic encapsulation layer (31-MM) disposed on the first inorganic encapsulation layer (disposed side by side and touching), wherein an end of one of the first inorganic encapsulation layer and the second inorganic encapsulation layer extends further in a direction from the display area toward the peripheral area than an end of the other thereof (31-NN is on the outside of 31-MM), wherein the one of the first inorganic encapsulation layer and the second inorganic encapsulation layer has a higher surface energy than the other thereof (paragraph 0019).
Regarding dependent claim 3, Min (‘648) teaches the first inorganic encapsulation layer has a higher surface energy than the second inorganic encapsulation layer, and the second inorganic encapsulation layer exposes an end portion of the first inorganic encapsulation layer.
Regarding dependent claim 4, Min (‘648) teaches the first inorganic encapsulation layer includes silicon oxide or silicon oxynitride, and the second inorganic encapsulation layer includes silicon nitride.
Regarding dependent claim 5, Min (‘648) teaches the first inorganic encapsulation layer is thicker (along the edges) than the second inorganic encapsulation layer.
Regarding dependent claim 13, Min (‘648) teaches the first inorganic encapsulation layer and the second inorganic encapsulation layer are in direct contact with each other in the peripheral area.
Regarding dependent claim 14, Min (‘648) teaches the display element includes a pixel electrode (paragraph 0023), an emission layer (20), and an opposite electrode (not shown).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2 and 7-12 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.
Claims 15-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding independent claim 15, the prior art of record neither shows nor suggest a display apparatus comprised of, in part, a thin-film encapsulation layer including a first inorganic encapsulation layer, an organic encapsulation layer, and a second inorganic encapsulation layer, which are sequentially disposed on the display element; and a dam portion disposed on the substrate and positioned in the peripheral area, wherein an edge of the thin-film encapsulation layer includes a first side extending in a first direction, a second side extending in a second direction in a plan view, and a corner portion where the first side and the second side meet each other, and, an end of the first inorganic encapsulation layer in the corner portion extends further in a direction from the display area toward the peripheral area than an end of the second inorganic encapsulation layer in the corner portion.
Due to their dependency, claims 16-20 are necessarily allowable.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2025/0089532, US 20180076417, US 20170125732, CN 109950421A all disclose the state of the art for inorganic encapsulation layers in an organic display device.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH L WILLIAMS whose telephone number is (571)272-2465. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 6:30 AM- 5:00 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JAMES R. GREECE can be reached at (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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JOSEPH L. WILLIAMS
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2875
/JOSEPH L WILLIAMS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875
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