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 Invention I, claims 1-9, in the reply filed on 06 May 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 10-19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 06 May 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.
(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.
Claims 1-4 and 6-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Seo (US 2021/0066418).
Regarding independent claim 1, Seo teaches a display device comprising a substrate (Fig. 4, Element 100; ¶ [0057]); a via insulating layer (Fig. 4, Element 111; ¶ [0095]) disposed on the substrate and defining a groove; a lower electrode (Fig. 4, Element ES1; ¶ [0146]) disposed on the via insulating layer and spaced apart from the groove in a plan view; a pixel defining layer (Fig. 4, Elements 113; ¶ [0091]) disposed on the via insulating layer, defining an opening (Fig. 4, Element TH1; ¶ [0091]) exposing at least a part of an upper surface of the lower electrode, and filling the groove; and a light-emitting layer (Fig. 4, Element 320; ¶ [0125]) disposed in the opening of the pixel defining layer.
Regarding claim 2, Seo teaches the lower electrode including a first part including an upper surface exposed by the opening; and a second part spaced apart from the first part and surrounded by the groove in the plan view (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 3, Seo teaches the pixel defining layer including a first area defining the opening and covering at least a part of the first part of the lower electrode; and a second area overlapping the second part of the lower electrode in the plan view (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 4, Seo teaches with respect to the upper surface of the lower electrode, a height of an upper surface of the pixel defining layer in the second area is greater than a height of the upper surface of the pixel defining layer in the first area (Fig. 4). Regarding claim 6, Seo teaches a surface of the pixel defining layer having liquid repellency (¶ [0124]).
Regarding claim 7, Seo teaches the pixel defining layer including an inorganic material including a light blocking material with black color or an organic material including the light blocking material with the black color (¶ [0124]).
Regarding claim 8, Seo teaches an upper surface of the light-emitting layer having a concave cross-sectional shape toward the substrate (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 9, Seo teaches the via insulating layer including a positive photosensitive material (¶ [0115]).
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Seo (US 2021/0066418).
Regarding claim 5, Seo teaches the limitations of claim 3 discussed earlier. Seo also teaches the height of the pixel defining layer having a varying thickness (¶ [0094]) but fails to exemplify, with respect to the upper surface of the lower electrode, a height of an upper surface of the pixel defining layer in the first area is less than about 1.0 micrometer.
It would have been an obvious choice of design to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the display device of Seo with a height of an upper surface of the pixel defining layer in the first area being less than about 1.0 micrometer, since where the general conditions of the claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation (MPEP § 2144.05(II)(A)).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kim (US 2022/0181410) teaches a display apparatus with a bank disposed on pixel defining layer. Zhang (US 2021/0210515) teaches an array substrate with a protrusion disposed a planarization layer. Lang (US 2021/0091149) teaches a display substrate. Choi (US 2020/0043998) teaches an organic light-emitting diode with pixel-defining layer including an opening exposing a pixel electrode. Park (US 2019/0214601) teaches an electroluminescent device with a buffer region. Bang (US 2018/0366524) teaches a display device with a pixel defining layer including a convex portion.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kevin Quarterman whose telephone number is (571)272-2461. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm.
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 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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/Kevin Quarterman/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2875 8 August 2026
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