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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-14 in the reply filed on 4/22/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 15-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 4/22/2026.
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 1-4 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Mizunuma et al. (US 9,983,439), of record by Applicant.
Regarding independent claim 1, Mizunuma et al. (‘439) teaches in figures 3, 9, and the corresponding text, a display device (DSP) comprising: a display panel (PNL); a first light conversion layer (WC1), a second light conversion layer (WC2), and a light transmission layer (WC3), which are disposed on the display panel and spaced apart from each other; bank layers (BA), each of which is disposed on the display panel and which are disposed between the first light conversion layer and the second light conversion layer and between the light transmission layer and each of the first and second light conversion layers; a spacer (optical layer (20)) disposed below a bank layer of the bank layers and facing the display panel; and a plurality of lenses (ML) disposed below the first light conversion layer, the second light conversion layer, and the light transmission layer, and facing the display panel, wherein the spacer and the plurality of lenses are disposed in a same layer (120).
Regarding dependent claim 2, Mizunuma et al. (‘439) teaches the plurality of lenses is arranged in a matrix shape when viewed in a plan view.
Regarding dependent claim 3, Mizunuma et al. (‘439) teaches each of the plurality of lenses has a circular shape when viewed on the plan view.
Regarding dependent claim 4, Mizunuma et al. (‘439) teaches a filling member (BF) disposed between the spacer and the display panel, wherein light emitted from the display panel passes through the filling member and each of the plurality of lenses, and is incident on each of the first and second light conversion layers and the light transmission layer.
Regarding dependent claim 10, Mizunuma et al. (‘439) teaches the display panel comprises: emission regions (IR1, IR2, IR3) which overlap the first light conversion layer, the second light conversion layer and the light transmission layer, respectively; and non-emission regions (no number, but the area directly above the spacers), each of which is disposed between the emission regions adjacent to each other, wherein the spacer overlaps the non-emission regions, and the plurality of lenses overlap the emission regions.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-9 and 11-14 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 dependent claim 5, the prior art of record neither shows nor suggest a refractive index of the plurality of lenses is higher than a refractive index of the filling member.
Regarding dependent claim 11, the prior art of record neither shows nor suggest the spacer is more adjacent to the display panel than the plurality of lenses is.
Regarding dependent claim 12, the prior art of record neither shows nor suggest the spacer and the plurality of lenses comprise a same material as each other.
Regarding dependent claim 13, the prior art of record neither shows nor suggest a first color filter disposed on the first light conversion layer; a second color filter disposed on the second light conversion layer; and a third color filter disposed on the light transmission layer.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2024/0215340 teach the state of the art of a display with a microlens.
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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